Ava the Angel
by ThexWhitexPhoenix
Summary: Arystar Krory have a cousin. This cousin of his is also an Exorcists and was made one four years before he took the job. The youngest Krory fights the Earl and his forces with Arystar Krory and his comrades. LavixOC Rated for language and adult themes
1. Chapter 1

TWP: Alright, I got the idea from episode 19 and thought that poor Crowley didn't have any family members (that we've heard of at least), so I thought, hell, why not make one. Hope you find this readable. I haven't submitted any fanfic since my One Piece fic, Innocence, so sorry if it's a bit stupid in the beginning. I'm going to work on it.

**Dislaimer: I own nothing, only my OC.**

* * *

><p>The black and white haired girl jumped off the train and walked into the little town. Once she entered it, she could see the castle that towered over the town, looking quite intimidating, even in the middle of the day. Her hair was cut short to her shoulders, except for a thin braid that trailed down her back, her bangs white, the rest of it black. Her eyes were golden and her skin pale in contrast to her dark clothing. Her uniform consisted of a long sleeved cloak that reached her ankles behind but only her navel on the front with a high collar. Inside she had a top that only covered her front while she had normal, tight black pants and combat boots. She began looking for a place to stay when she overheard a conversation between a group of people.<p>

"Did you hear about the attack last night?" one said.

"Yes. I heard that it was something called Akuma." This got her attention pretty quickly. "Yes, I did too. Apparently, the black clergyman that came yesterday warded them off with another two that came during the night."

"Excuse me, ma'am." The women turned towards the girl and smiled gently. "Yes, my dear?"

"Where are those clergymen now?" She asked politely and the women pointed her towards a building with the sign of a clinic on it. She thanked them and hurried over. She walked in just in time to see two of three clergymen look at the crowd with wide eyes. "Excuse me, coming through, thanks." She skillfully moved through the crowd and managed to get in and in front of them, Lavi could only stare before he got his thumbs up.

"Strike!" He exclaimed but the girl ignored him. "Alright, does anyone here know of a way up to the Krory castle?" She asked and everyone stared at her before the mayor nodded.

"We're going there tonight." Then he noticed her clothes. "AH! You're also one of the black clergymen?" He cried out and she grinned sheepishly. "Um, yeah… well, at least I'm an Exorcist. That's not a problem is it?" Rather than looking angry or distrustful they almost looked like they were going to cry from happiness which freaked the girl out a little.

"A-anyway, could anyone give me directions? I'm in a bit of a hurry actually." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"What business do you have in the castle?" She turned back to the Exorcists behind her and met the Allen's questioning stare. "I'm gonna meet my cousin, Arystar Krory." She grinned. The moment she said that someone forced her to turn and she saw a wooden stake and a hammer. She dodged it and hurried to the opposite wall gaping at the villagers.

"What the hell?" She yelled, pointing at them accusingly as they turned towards her with stakes raised.

"If you're a part of his family you're a vampire too! A wooden stake to the heart will kill a vampire!" The mayor called and a vein appeared on her forehead as she twitched angrily. She grabbed the nearest thing she found, which was a chair, and hurled it towards them, effectively scattering them.

"A human would die from it too ya morons!" She yelled and rolled up the arms of her uniform, her expression a mix between annoyance and anger. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you could have killed me!" The group bowed low on the floor and exclaimed apologies while the other three exorcists watched in amusement.

"Allen, your eye needs some medical attention." The two boys and girl turned towards the Bookman who was staring at the white haired boy. He nodded and grabbed a chair and sat down, letting the old man examine it.

"Hey, I'm Lavi." She glanced to her right and saw the red haired boy smile as he extended his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Even though I just kind of barged in here I didn't introduce myself." She grabbed it and smiled back at him. "Ava, Ava Krory." She replied.

"I've seen you around the Order now and then, but not often." Lavi pointed out and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm usually never back at HQ. They usually update my missions through my golem." She explained and went to shake the other twos hands since they were finished with what they were doing.

"Sooo, what do we do now, Bookman?" Allen asked. "Continue the search for answers of course." Bookman answered and said that the only place they would get those answers were the castle where General Cross had visited not too long ago, where the vampire resided.

"Then I guess we're going the same way." Ava grinned at Allen.

"Even with one eye, it would have been alright going alone." Lavi reassured him but gaped at his master when he said that he was going too.

"What?"

"It's all part of your training."

"And you are…?" Lavi asked, although he knew what the old man would say. "Staying here. I'll fend off any pesky Akuma."

"Oh fine. I'll go then, you old panda." Lavi muttered and was hit by a flying kick from the Bookman.

"Who are you calling a panda you fool? And while I'm on the subject, stop calling me old!" Ava and Allen snickered silently.

"He _does_ resemble a panda though, doesn't he?" Ava whispered to Allen who nodded. Allen stood up, grabbed Lavis arm and dragged him out of the clinic with Ava right behind them. Once out Lavi stumbled up on his feet and all three walked together towards the mob of people with pitchforks and spades.

"This doesn't look all too good for my cousin." Ava frowned and the exorcists stared at her. "What?"

"If Krory really is a vampire, shouldn't you be one too?" Lavi asked and she raised an eyebrow. "Vampires don't exist." She answered and he pointed accusingly at her. "That's what a vampire would say!" She giggled then, before laughing loudly.

"Right you are, right you are. But seriously, I'm not a vampire. I have no fangs or pointy ears, see?" She lifted her hair and flashed perfectly white teeth. The boys seemed satisfied and so did the townspeople they had walked up to and so they began their journey up towards the castle.

* * *

><p>"Eeeh? Really? You're cursed?" Ava asked Allen when they told her about his eye.<p>

"Yeah. This eye allows me to see the souls of the Akuma and it also detects any nearby Akuma. It doesn't work now though, so I'll simply have to do without it until it heals up." She studied the pentacle on his forehead and the closed eyelid before sighing.

"I bet it's useful." She said wistfully and Allen smiled. "Yeah, but it's not like I'm useless without it."

"I didn't say that!" She hastily replied. "If it sounded like I meant that, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, it's alright."

"Hey, have you guys heard about this? If you get bitten by a vampire you will actually turn into one." Lavi suddenly said.

"I have heard about that before." Allen nodded. "If that happens our friendship's over, because I'm not gonna put up with the whole sucking-blood-up thing, you know." Though Lavi seemed serious Allen only laughed. "You can stop, I know that already."

"It's only a myth. There's no such thing as a vampire, and if I did have one in the family, I think I would know. Aren't you supposed to be the successor of Bookman? You've gotta stop believing in fantasy stories." Ava sighed exasperatedly but Lavi just laughed at her. Allen suddenly glanced over his shoulder, making his companions do so too, and what they saw made them sigh in embarrassment and smile nervously. The town's people behind them were carrying pitch forks, wooden stakes and hammers and wore necklaces made of garlic.

"What is it?" The mayor asked and they shook their heads, mumbling that it was nothing.

"Think that it's maybe an Akuma that's posing as a vampire?" Lavi asked but Ava shook her head. "No, I don't think so. It's been years since I was here last but I remember that it was hell trying to get in. I don't think any Akuma would have been able to get in." She voiced her opinion and Allen agreed. He had never heard of a blood sucking Akuma before. While the two boys continued their conversation, Ava looked around, trying to get familiar with the territory. Suddenly a giant gate loomed over them.

"Behind this gate is the Krory garden, where it is said that there are Akuma in great numbers." The mayor began dramatically but Ava only rolled her eyes and walked up to the gate. She began banging her fists on the gate and called out.

"Hey! Arystar! It's Ava, your cousin! Lemme in will ya?" Just as she finished her sentence the mayor and his group of men jumped on her and held her back.

"What are you doing? He'll know we're here!"

"That's kinda the point." Ava growled as she tried to break free but then a swarm of bats flew over them and the mob let go of Ava and took a few steps back. After the swarm disappeared there was only an eerie silence before something that sounded like a beast's roar could be heard.

"Did you just hear something?" Allen asked shakily. "I sure did." Lavi answered in the same tone. The mayor appeared behind them and began pushing them.

"Well, go in!" the two swallowed loudly and Ava rolled her eyes again.

"Seriously, I don't see the problem." She pushed the gate open slowly and walked in. "Hm, it's changed some but it's still familiar to me."

"What's changed?" Allen asked.

"There were a lot more flowers here before. Huge man-eating flowers."

"Really?" The two Exorcists yelled out surprised, both at hearing about man-eating flowers and her talking about it like it was nothing new to her. "Yeah. But it's the same intimidating monster statues though." She shuddered as she glanced at the statues surrounding them.

"Whoever this strange Krory guy is, he's got a real weird taste in art." Lavi said as they surveyed their surroundings.

'_Tell me about it. I had to grow up with this.'_ Ava thought. Her home had been a lot like this castle, surrounded by weird monster statues, man-eating flowers and traps. Her parents had forced them to develop their agility and reflexes through those every-day traps. She froze then and looked around at the same time Allen took off his gloves. The sensation of being watched… she was feeling that now.

"Hey Allen, what's up?" Lavi asked and Allen jumped startled. "You took your glove off, is there something we should know? Or are you scared?" Allen laughed nervously at Lavis teasing tone.

"Don't be silly!" Then he noticed that Lavi was also holding his hammer in his fist, his fingers twitching. "And what about you, Lavi? It looks like your hand is getting a bit twitchy." He returned the teasing tone and Lavi glanced at his hand. "I ain't scared of this Krory character." His voice shook a bit before he began to laugh trying to hide his fear. Allen joined him trying to wash away his own fear. Then they both froze as their senses picked up on something. Ava had backed herself into them and they were now all facing a different direction, all of them trying to find the source.

"Is something wrong?" The mayor asked but Lavi shushed him. They readied themselves for an attack but it never came. Instead, something or someone ran right past them. They turned just in time to see someone being taken away.

"He got Franz!" The mayor and the exorcists ran to the back of the crowd and saw Arystar Krory sucking the blood out of one of the men.

"Wait, that's him?" Lavi asked.

"Yes, that's him! That's Count Arystar Krory!" The mayor called out. Both Allen and Lavi were frozen in shock but Ava frowned and took a few steps forward.

"YOU SEE THIS IS THE REASON WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO LOOK FOR MASTER!" Allen wailed loudly. The group took a few steps back before screaming and running back the way they came from.

"Arystar?" Ava reached out but just then the two behind her activated their Innocence getting into their battle stances. Krory spit out the villager he had captured and smirked at them before laughing.

"Am I to understand that you're actually going to fight me? How very brave of you."

"Hey, remember that if you get bitten, you and I are through." Lavi called and Allen agreed. Krory attacked and dodged Allens attacks. The moment before he could reach the boy though, he was hit by Lavis hammer. Lavi jumped into the air, his hammer growing in size as Allen kept him busy with his own attacks. Krory looked up just in time to grab Lavis hammer with his teeth. All three of them were thoroughly freaked out by his display of strength before he flung Lavi away, causing him to crash into one of the statues and fall under the rubble. Allen used this opportunity to grab the man and hold him down. Krory laughed, finding it amusing and fascinating that they were still breathing after facing him head on.

"You must be monsters as well."

"Not really, you're fighting Exorcists." Allen glared at him but Krory continued to smirk. "Exorcists? Really? Fascinating. What do you taste like? Let's find out!" The man bit his Anti-Akuma weapon and none of them could have predicted his next action.

"Why does this blood taste so bad?" The vampire yelled and ran off with the fallen Franz into the woods. The villagers stared for a second before they ran away. Allen turned to Lavi who took a few steps back.

"I warned you." Allen turned to Timcanpy who also created some distance between them.

"Ava, are you going to… stay away too?" He turned around but couldn't see the girl anywhere. "Where'd she go?" Lavi also noticed that she was gone.

"What the…"

"You think Krory took her?" Allen asked but Lavi shook his head. "He took that Franz guy but she was here after he left. You think she followed him?"

"Only one way to find out." The cursed boy said and stared at the castle doors. Without saying anymore they walked through the doors, their guard up in case anything would attack them.

* * *

><p>TWP: Yes, before you hit me or throw things at me, YES IT'S FOLLOWING THE GOD DAMNED PLOTLINE! But not forever. There are going to be incidents or scenes or whatever you'd like to call it that isn't part of the manga OR the anime. Chill…<p>

By the way, please tell me what you think. Should I continue or not? This may actually turn out better than it seems to be right now.


	2. Chapter 2

TWP: Alright, let's hope this chapter will be better than the last.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ava.**

Ava Krory, Arystar Krorys youngest cousin. Discovered her Parasite type Innocence at the age of 14. Have been part of the Black Order ever since.

Race: Romanian

Age: 18 years

Height: 169 cm

Weight: 65 kg

Birthday: 15 October

Sign: Libra

Bloodtype: A

* * *

><p>Ava hid in the shadows, watching her cousin cry as he tried to wake up the corpse in front of him.<p>

"Oh God. Please tell me that you're still alive!" He sobbed but the man didn't move nor respond to his words. The woman, Eliade, grabbed his wrist and with a monotone voice stated that the man had already passed on. Krory covered his face as tears ran down his cheeks while Eliade said that she would bury the body for him.

"How did I turn into this monster, _how_?" Krory cried out in frustration. "A mob of people from the village came to fight me in the garden. I've now become an enemy to them, something to be feared and hated!" Eliade embraced him and said that it couldn't be helped how the villagers felt about him.

'_What the hell…'_ Ava thought as she watched Krory refrain himself from biting into the blondes neck and drain her as well. He shuffled away from her, telling her to stay away from him, begging her to stay away from him.

"I will… even though… I will kill you… even though I… love you!" He kept muttering and the blonde smiled. "Don't you know that I love you too, Arystar? Don't worry yourself about what other people think about you. You're above them." She crawled over to him and embraced him.

'… _This is awkward…" _Ava thought and wanted nothing more than to creep away, feeling like an intruder. But still, even though the woman comforted her cousin she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. After a few moments Eliade put the body in a coffin and left Krory for himself. Once the door was closed and only the soft whimpers of Krory was heard she dropped down in front of him.

"Arystar!" She exclaimed and he yelled out in surprise and fell back. She held up her hands with a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry."

"W-who are you? You're an Exorcist too right? Are you here to kill me?" She frowned and shook her head before squatting down in front of him.

"You really don't recognize me?" She asked and he stared at her for a while longer, taking in her hair color and eye color before his eyes lit up in realization.

"Ava?" She laughed and nodded. "Long time no see cousin." She held out her hand and helped him up. "What are you doing here?" Krory asked as he dusted himself off and wiped his eyes.

"I'm on a mission, for the Black Order." At his confused expression she waved it off. "Nothing important to you anyway. But I had to pass through here and thought that while I did I could visit you." Tears welled up in his eyes and she blinked. "Eh?"

"Ava~!" He cried out and hugged her. "You don't know how it's been. Ever since grandfather died I've been staying alone in this castle! Everyone feared me, called me a vampire and then suddenly I turn into one!" Ava put her hands on his shoulder and pulled him back a little before staring at him.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright. But, what happened after grandpa died?" she asked and he took out a handkerchief and blew his nose.

"I've been all alone with the flowers grandfather left me. I thought that I could finally do what I wanted but I had to care for them. Then a man comes, gives me a flower that bit me and now everything's turned into chaos. I don't know what to do."

"What about that woman? Eliade?" Ava asked again.

"I met her not too long ago. Even though I attacked her, she forgave me. She's such a sweet heart. She's been staying with me the whole time, even though I go around murdering people." He sobbed.

"There, there, Arystar. Calm down, everything's gonna be fine." She patted him on his back and suddenly a loud explosion could be heard and both their heads snapped up.

"What the?" Krory whimpered and Ava got to her feet. "Arystar, stay here. It's probably Allen and Lavi. I'll be right back." She smiled reassuringly and ran out of the doors, leaving her confused cousin behind.

* * *

><p>'<em>What the hell are they doing?'<em> she thought to herself as she ran down the corridors of the castle. She could see Eliade look down through a hole in the wall, yelling angrily about destroying flowers.

"Oh my gosh, she's gorgeous!" She heard Lavis voice echo before it turned into nothing more than weird giggling and laughing. It was like he was enchanted. "She's totally my type!" He called out, completely obvious to the giant flowers that towered over him. He ran over towards her but before he could reach her his view of her was obstructed by black combat boots.

"Idiot! She's Arystars lover!" Ava yelled and Lavi was sent flying back to Allen who sweatdropped.

"What's your problem?" Lavi yelled and Allen flattened him to the ground in annoyance. "How can you be such an idiot over a girl like that? Did you happen to notice that we're about to be eaten?" Allen yelled angrily.

"Allen, you're such a child." Lavi chided him as he got out of the younger boys grip but was flattened to the floor again and stomped on by Ava. "Didn't I just say that she's Arystars lover, huh?" Eliade saw the crest that all three of them had on their uniforms and narrowed her eyes.

'_Exorcists…'_ she thought bitterly before she got to her feet. "My name is Eliade, and I'm Arystars assistant. Now, I would appreciate it if you would tell me what business you have in our castle!" she demanded.

"I'm Ava Krory, Arystars cousin. This is my companions, Allen and Lavi. I'm just here to drop by and say hi to Arystar. These guys are also looking for someone named Cross Marian. You heard of him?" Ava asked as she got off Lavi, her eyes warded and suspicious. The blonde's eyes widened. She didn't know that Krory had any living relatives left.

"We're also searching the premises for a villager that Krory kidnapped." Allen added and Eliade looked thoughtful before lifting up the coffin she had taken with her.

"Can you guess what this is?" She asked.

"It's a coffin." Allen replied bluntly and she giggled.

"Silly boy. I meant what do you think is in it?" She pushed it over the edge of the wall and it slid down, opening and showing the corpse of Franz. The three rushed forward to stop it from breaking apart but just then a giant flower appeared from the ground. This was the biggest one yet. Two more emerged and all three dug into the coffin, eating the corpse. Eliade scoffed before running away.

"What the hell's her problem?" Allen said angrily but Ava grabbed a hold of his sleeve and pointed at the flowers.

"Look!" Pentacles appeared and the flowers shivered before giving off a blinding light.

"This is really bad!" Lavi called and they all began to run away, hoping to escape the blast zone. The explosion made the whole castle quiver, almost making Krory, who was alone; think that it was going to collapse on itself before it calmed down. Of course, the blast had blown a hole in the castle wall and the three were hanging outside it. Allen at the top, trying to not lose his grip or else they would all fall to their doom, Lavi second and Ava last. Allen had a good grip on Lavis left foot while Lavi himself had a good grip on Avas jacket.

"We're so awesome. I thought we were gonna die for sure!" Lavi panted as the excitement wore off.

"Yeah, but if we don't get back up we're doomed anyway!" Allen said and tried to pull himself up. "This isn't working. Lavi, Ava, you've gotta climb up yourselves!" He called. Lavi nodded but Ava was deep in thought. Her arms were crossed over her chest and a frown plastered her pretty face.

'_Those flowers meant a lot for gramps, and Arystar cared for gramps and have taken so good care of them all these years. He'll be crushed when he learns about them. And that Eliade woman should know that. Why did she deliberately cause them harm?'_

"Ava!" She snapped out of her thoughts as Lavi called on her. "Didn't you hear? You've gotta climb up. Allen can't pull us all up."

"Sorry!" She called and grabbed his pants, then jacket and began climbing up. Once up, she helped Lavi get up and then they pulled Allen up together.

"Wait, what's that?" Allen pointed out towards the gardens and the other two followed his gaze. Their eyes widened. "A graveyard…" Allen answered his own question when he saw the stones on top of the ground that showed clear signs of having been dug up.

"These graves don't look very nice do they?" Lavi said when they finally got to them.

"What grave is ever nice?" Ava muttered while kneeling down beside one and checked the stone.

"I think it's possible we've found the missing villagers guys." Allen said. "Look, the amount of graves match the number of missing villagers." He was right. There were eight graves, and not including Franz who had been eaten by the flowers, there were ten missing villagers; the first had evaporated so therefore there was no grave for her.

"There's something wrong guys… those flowers don't explode after having a meal." Ava said, looking up before removing one of the burial stones and pointed at the ground. The two walked over and stared wide eyed.

"You removed it! You defiled it!" Lavi yelled. Ava growled and threw the stone at him but he managed to duck just in time. "Hey! What was that for?" He cried out indignantly and she pointed at the ground again.

"Look. Pentacles." She said simply.

"On the surface of the ground?" Allen whispered. "No mistake. The curse of an Akumas blood." Lavi added just as silently.

"Then that would make this the grave for an Akuma." Ava said and glanced at the others. "Let's check the others." And so the three began removing the stones and checking the ground. All of the eight graves had pentacles on them.

"Hey, remember the flowers that ate Franz earlier? Did you see the pentacles on them?" Lavi asked and the other two nodded.

"I thought it strange. I've seen such plants eat before, and that never happened." Ava brought her hand up to her chin, eyes narrowed.

"Before?" Allen asked and she looked up at him, realizing she had thought out loud.

"Oh, yeah. I grew up with those things trying to eat me." She laughed and the other two gaped at her.

'_She's crazy!'_ they thought before shaking their heads.

"So then… do you guys think the same things as I do?" Lavi asked as he got up on his feet. The other two nodded.

"The flowers ate an Akuma… and that would mean that there's a lot more going on than vampires. And if it's only Akuma that Krory attacked, then that means that-" Allen began but Ava interrupted him.

"Arystar may be in the possession of Innocence." The girl nodded.

"That still remains to be seen. If the bodies in these graves are Akuma, then you may be right." Allen said and tied up his hair. "Let's check it out."

'_But then… who's Eliade? Arystar wanted to suck her blood earlier… don't tell me!_' Ava slowly came to a realization and cursed under her breath before she ran towards the castle again.

"A-Ava? Where are you going?" Allen called after her and she glanced over her shoulder. "To find Arystar!" she called back.

"We should stay together!" The boys called after her but she leaped up into the air and right through the hole that the explosion had cause and disappeared into the darkness.

"… I think she'll be fine…" Lavi said as they stared after her.

* * *

><p>'<em>If what I suspect really is the case, then Arystar may be in danger! Gotta hurry up. Where's that damn shortcut?'<em> Ava thought as she ran down the corridors. Then she found it. A giant picture of a man-eating flower. _'Bingo._' She thought and pushed it aside, showing a small entrance, just big enough for her to crawl through. She entered and the picture fell back in place and she could see no more, but she could hear a voice.

"I'm a vampire through and through now…" It was faint, but it was Krorys voice. She crawled faster now, hoping to reach him before Eliade.

"The villagers hate me already and the only place I'll ever find happiness is in here… in this castle, tending to our flowers, just as you said before you died... My fate has been set in stone. I will stay here until death takes me." There was a pause until she heard soft chuckling. She was close now. "Why am I crying? I have my dearest Eliade by my side. Grandfather, is this a curse you placed upon me? You knew I always yearned for the outside world-" He was cut off by the picture moving outwards and he fell back startled as Ava popped out from behind it.

"That's not true! Grandpa was always weird but he couldn't have cursed you!"

"A-Ava?" He squeaked as she stood before him. "He wouldn't curse you, you know that! Grandpa cared too much for us to do anything like that!"

"But… what other explanation is there?" Krory asked as he got to his feet. Before Ava could answer though, Eliade came running in the door, sobbing.

"Oh Arystar I've been looking for you all over." She sobbed as she stumbled over to him.

"Eliade!" He exclaimed worriedly when she fell into his chest. "What's wrong?"

"There are men outside claiming to be Exorcists. They snuck into the castle and want to murder you! They tried to attack me but I got away!" Krorys expression turned eerily calm, the same with his voice.

"They did what?"

"They burned the flowers, those that you loved. The ones below the staircase!"

"Of course! That must have been what I felt!" He realized, thinking about the huge tremor. He slowly turned around to glare at Ava with the coldest eyes she had ever seen him wear. "What is the meaning of this, Ava?" he asked calmly, a dangerous edge in his voice and she felt it. It caused shivers to run up and down her back. He believed Eliade, and the Exorcist knew for sure now that there was something wrong with that woman. She was lying to Krory, because what caused the flowers to explode was the Akuma Franz that she had fed them. Ava held up her hands in defense and carefully replied.

"It's not what you think. We didn't blow up grandpa's flowers, I swear. She's lying." Obviously, that last part wasn't something she should have said. Krory glared daggers at her, the room turned cold and she could swear that she could see her breath in the air. "Arystar, you've gotta believe me!"

"Why? For all these years I've been locked up in this castle, while you and the others were free to roam around. Now, years after grandfather's death you return. I thought that maybe you came for my sake, to meet up with family you hadn't seen for years but you're like the rest. You came to exercise me too, didn't you, Ava?" He yelled her name and she glared right back.

"Now wait just one god damned minute! I'm not here to kill you!" but her voice fell for deaf ears. Eliade made Krory bite her and suck some of her blood. Before Ava knew it, Krory had grabbed her neck and was sending her through the thick stone walls. Each time her body met a wall, pain coursed through her.

"Arystar…" She growled but was unable to break free. Drinking blood gave him superhuman strength and speed. Ava lost count of how many walls they had broken through when she was hit on the back of her neck. Immediately, she passed out.

'_Arystar… you idiot!'_

* * *

><p>"That's right… If Krory isn't a vampire like we originally thought-" Allen began but noticed the tall man behind Lavi. Problem was, the redhead didn't notice it until it was too late. He was backhanded by Krory and crashed into the walls of the castle. It took him by surprise and he lost consciousness. Allen readied himself for a fight before he gasped. Krorys left hand was holding on to someone. He held a battered and unconscious Ava by her arm, dragging her across the ground, a sickening grin on his face.<p>

"You three have made me very angry." He growled. He let go of Ava and rushed towards Allen who activated his Innocence just a moment too late. Krory lifted him high up in the air before he managed to break loose. He fell down onto the castle walls and stared at Krory. He successfully dodged the man's attacks and landed on the ground.

"Count Krory, please hear me out!" He called but Krory ignored him and continued to attack, forcing Allen on the defensive. What puzzled the older man though was that Allen didn't fight back immediately.

"Afraid you're gonna end up like your friends?" He yelled. Allen glanced at Lavi and Ava which gave the older man the opening he wanted. He pushed Allens weapon away but before he could attack he disarmed it.

"All I want to do is talk!" Allen panted and the Count stopped, letting Allen do just that. "All the bodies of the villagers in those graves, they're Akuma, not human. Were you aware of that? Do you even know the difference between the two?"

"Akuma?" Krory breathed out and Allen took that as no.

"Count Arystar Krory, are you a vampire or are you something else?" Krory maintained his icy glare.

"Mind your own business, got it?" He growled and rushed at Allen and bit his neck. The boy managed to get out of his grasp and clutched the wound. The man laughed sadistically and spit out strands of white hair.

"Your blood taste disgusting!"

"Yeah? That's because it's human blood." Allen answered.

"Human? Don't kid yourself. You're a monster and you know it!" Allen grit his teeth as Krory said that he was only a simple man that lived in his castle with Eliade. Humans and Akuma had nothing to do with him and he would kill everyone who dared to stand in his way. Including Allen. He rushed again, faster than before, and when Allen jumped into the air to get away, he followed quickly and kicked him into the castle, where the boy fell down under rubble and remained hidden, unconscious.

"Hmph, that was quick." Krory scoffed and turned his back on the three, which proved to be a mistake. Lavi leaped out from the rubble and, faster than he had been earlier that night, he attacked the dark clad man, who managed to dodge just in time.

"Don't fucking underestimate me." The boy wiped blood from his mouth with a smirk. "It takes a lot to take me down, so I'll just kick your ass now so we can chat later."

"Interesting." Krory growled. Lavi then noticed the unconscious Ava on the ground. He jumped down and examined her. She looked like a mess. Her hair out of its neat braid and he could see bruises on her neck, indicating that she had been held down. Her clothes were torn and scratched too, indicating that she had been caught in a fight. He lifted her up and put her against the wall, out of reach for any of them so she would be a little safer while they fought.

'_His own flesh and blood. What the hell's wrong with this guy?'_ Lavi thought before he launched himself at the Count.

* * *

><p>TWP: alright, hope you guys found this chapter readable too. Hehe, it's a bit different right? No? Hell, it is a bit different. Don't like, don't read. Those who like, please review :D<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

TWP: Third chapter, whooo!

You know what I realized after I wrote chapter 2? I made Ava heavier than Lavi xD

By the way, I've already written up to chapter 30, so the reasons I only update once a month (1. Every month) is because I've got my classes on the university and I need to look over them every now and then...though I've been dying to update this chapter the last few days xD Still, thank you guys for being patient with me. *hugs readers*

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Ava!**

* * *

><p>"Vampire, vampire! Stay away from us you freak!" A twelve year old Arystar Krory watched as a group of children mocked him from a distance. He was holding their ball and they obviously wanted it back but they didn't want to go near him. He had watched them play from a distance and when the ball had rolled over to him, he had lifted it up and walked over to them, not only to give it back but to ask if he could join them. He had seen it as an opportunity. The moment they had seen him they had created more distance and began yelling, telling him to stay away.<p>

"But… I just wanted to play." He said silently and they laughed. "Who would play with a vampire freak? Come closer and we'll drive a stake through your heart!" They yelled. Krory felt tears fall down his cheek as they continued to bully him until an angry yell echoed over the empty field. Krory looked up and saw two boys, twins, run up to them and chase the group of children away.

"Leave Arystar alone, morons!" The first one, who carried a two year old girl in his arms, shouted angrily.

"Yeah. Leave Arystar alone!" The other boy repeated. The kids stuck out their tongues and yelled freak one last time before the two boys began to run after them. This caused them to flee.

"Don't come back here ever again, freak!" They yelled before disappearing back into town.

"Spoiled little brats!" the one holding the baby began to yell but the other one calmed him down.

"Don't yell into her ear Tristan." Tristan turned towards his younger twin brother and glared. "But look at how they treated Arystar, Duke!"

"It won't make it any better if she starts crying, you know." Duke took his little sister into his own arms before they walked over to Krory who had sunk down to the ground, hiding his face behind the ball. Tristan grabbed it and removed it, revealing the tear stained face of Krory. He immediately looked away.

"Arystar, you shouldn't let them get away with that." Tristan frowned when the boy didn't reply. "Hey, you are listening?" Krory flinched and he sighed.

"He didn't mean to sound angry Arystar." Duke squatted down and put the girl on the ground. "It's just that you don't deserve to be bullied and you know it."

"But, what if they're right? What if I am a vampire?" Krory asked. Tristan grabbed his cheeks and pulled while Duke examined his teeth.

"I see no fangs here. And your ears aren't pointy either." Tristan let go after Duke pointed that out and Krory held his sore cheeks with wide eyes. "Besides, if you really were a vampire, then our little sister wouldn't climb on you either." Krory looked down to see the child reach up for him. He lifted her up to eyelevel and she squealed before throwing her tiny chubby arms around his neck.

"Alysta!" She squealed and the two boys laughed. "Hear that? She almost got your name right!" The girl released him and he held her away from him so he could see her face. The girl was squealing happily and reaching for him. He let her hug him one more time before she demanded to be put down.

"Thanks, you guys." He rubbed away the remains of his tears as Tristan ruffled his hair.

"Don't worry about it. We're cousins, right?" He grinned and Krory smiled a bit too before he noticed something.

"Um… it's not healthy for a child to eat dirt, is it?"

"Hm?" The twins turned towards their younger sister and yelled out in surprise. "AAAH, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AVA?"

"MOM IS GONNA KILL US IF SHE FINDS OUT! SPIT IT OUT, SPIT IT OUT, _SPIT IT OUT_!" The two hurriedly scooped her up and made her spit out the dirt she had put in her mouth before all four of them hurried back to Krory castle, hoping to wash it all out before they were discovered.

* * *

><p>"Just like I thought, it looks like you really are one of us." Lavi said as he relaxed his guard a bit.<p>

"Excuse me?" Krory glared at him.

"Every one of the villagers you attacked was an Akuma. The only type of human who can survive the Akuma virus is a Parasite type accommodator, which is what you are, follow me?" Ava could hear both her cousin and Lavis voices. Her head ached as she tried to open her eyes to no avail. "Afraid all the evidence is there, Krory, and it confirms that you're an Exorcist, whether you like it or not."

'_He really is one of us, huh.'_ She thought in relief as she heard what Lavi was telling Krory. Now she didn't have to find an excuse as to why she was visiting a family member. It was strictly forbidden after all.

"Oh yeah? You think I'm that naïve?"

"No, you were just going after Akumas blood without realizing it, because the consciousness that's inside the Innocence will hunt the Akuma on its own, with or without your permission." Lavi smirked then. "You know, you seem to be getting a kick out of hunting Akuma. If you join my friends and I, you can hunt all you want." Ava had to admit, the boy was a smooth talker. Had she been in Krorys shoes, she probably would have joined him. Unfortunately, Krory wasn't that easy to convince since he believed Eliade's word over some strange kids.

"I'm not interested."

"I thought you'd say that."

"I recall you wanted to wait until you had beaten me before you would have this conversation." Krory taunted and Lavi shrugged with a lazy sigh.

"Well, that was my original plan but you see, you were a great deal tougher than I thought so I thought it would have been a good idea to talk first." He swung his hammer and held it high above him.

"We're beyond diplomacy now so I won't be holding back." He warned. "So you'll just have to give me an answer after you wake up, Krory-kins."

'_That's a ridiculous nickname…'_ Ava thought humorously. '_But it suits him.'_

"Don't you sound confident? Maybe now I'll break a sweat." Krory teased and Lavi lowered his voice. "You'll see, just you wait." He extended the reach of his hammer and seals appeared circling around his Innocence.

"Innocence, level 2 release!" He yelled and his weapon began to glow green. "Now, it's on!" He rushed and attacked Krory, who didn't quite understand what use the seals would have until a giant pillar of fire surged from the ground and almost swallowed him. He managed to get away in time and rushed at Lavi again.

'_Come on… wake up!'_ Ava thought, trying to open her eyes as the two battled on even grounds, none of them managing to land an attack. _'This is ridiculous, open god dammit!'_ Why couldn't she wake up? Rather, why couldn't she open her eyes when she was clearly awake? Both of them leaped high up in the air and Krory bared two rows of sharp fangs.

"Get your ass back down!" Lavi yelled and managed to strike Krory who fell back down on the ground but when Lavi attacked again, Krory grabbed the handle and swung him around, slamming him down on the ground too. Lavi got the breath knocked out of him and was paralyzed for a few seconds, and that was all Krory needed. He charged towards Lavi who could only watch the fangs close in on him but before he managed to even touch him, he was punched in the face and sent backwards. Lavi could only watch the torn cloak billow around Ava before she shrugged it off and let it drop to the ground.

"Come on, cousin. Let's do this!" She smirked and got into a battle stance. Krory gave a frightening grin and charged but stopped right in front of her. Ava didn't even bat an eyelash. "You're out of steam." She said simply as he cried out and stumbled backwards. He grabbed his head and cried out again in pain and jumped backwards, slamming himself into a tree.

"Oh man." Lavi turned around and got up on all four as the Count continued to struggle mentally.

"He's out of Akuma blood. He needs more to be able to fight I guess." Ava shrugged as Lavi got up on his feet with a worried expression. "Don't worry; he's just going back to being the calm and nice Arystar."

"No Arystar! If you had sucked any more you would have killed the love of your life!" He suddenly exclaimed. "Eliade!" He suddenly began to slam his head into the tree and the other two sweatdropped.

"Calm and nice?" Lavi questioned and Ava sighed. "… he's not attacking us is he? Seriously, you men are so demanding." She huffed a bit.

"Well, not my problem." Lavi grinned and lifted his hammer again. "I'm not here to hold his hands, let's take this chance to pounce." Ava stared at him surprised.

"You're a very unsympathetic person ain't ya?" Lavi only shrugged.

"No hard feelings, right?" He activated his Innocence and the ground was lit up by a giant red seal. "Grow, Hammer of Flames! Hell Fire Cyclone!" A giant snake of fire erupted from the ground and swallowed Krory who screamed out in pain and fear before he crashed into the castle wall, creating another huge hole in it. At Ava's slightly worried expression he reassured her that his attack hadn't been strong enough to kill him or harm him too much.

"Anyway, let's hurry up and find both Allen and Arystar!" Ava said and headed for the castle but Lavi grabbed her arm and grinned.

"Hold on to my hammer." He said and she did just so, wondering what he was going to do.

"Extend." He called and the handle extended from the ground and the surprise almost made her lose her grip on it. Just as they shot up Allen came flying out a window and Lavi managed to grab his hood just in time.

"I appreciate it Lavi. I think you just saved my life." Allen grinned and Lavi smiled too.

"Don't sweat it." They headed inside just in time to see Eliade fuss over her lover, begging him to wake up. Both Ava and Lavi gasped and Lavi began rubbing his eye.

"I think I'm seeing things." He mumbled. "Allen, is that gorgeous woman… an Akuma?" Allen wondered what he was talking about. It was true but Lavi hadn't seen her real form.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Ava gagged beside them, covering her mouth.

"We can see it. There's a human soul floating right beside her." Lavi muttered and Allen turned back to the two on the ground before he realized it. His cursed eye had grown stronger. It made it possible for the others to see the soul now too, or at least for now. Krory woke up but gasped.

"Eliade… what's that thing coming from your body?" He asked and her eyes widened. Allen covered his left eye and the soul disappeared from their sight and Ava gave a sigh of relief.

"That was… the most disgusting thing I've ever seen." She shuddered, feeling pity for Eliade who was like that and Allen, who saw these things all the time, but the moment he let his hand fall the soul came back again. Now Ava wondered if she should feel pity for the Akuma or not. Being forced to live like that, it must hurt.

"Krory, can you see the creature coming out of her body? It shows that she's an Akuma. Eliade is an Akuma!" Allen called out and Krory stared at Eliade in disbelief.

"Is that… really true?" Eliade looked torn between telling the truth or lie. "Have you been deceiving me?"

"I… I don't know what to say…" Akuma blood dripped down on his hand and the man felt the urge to drink blood overcome him. "I really wish this didn't have to come to this." She sighed and transformed in front of him. Before he could react she slammed her tail into him and he crashed into a pillar.

"I was going to let you live but I'll never let you become an Exorcist!" Eliade growled and with a squeak Lavi remembered something.

"Krory-kins don't have any strength left because he fought me earlier!"

"Krory-kins?" Allen asked confused. "It's him! I gave him a nickname!"

"Arystar!" Ava cried out and ran forward, ready to activate her Innocence.

'_Angel, acti-'_ but before she could get close the man-eating flowers came up from the floor and tried to snatch them.

"More flowers? I thought we got rid of them Lavi?" Allen cried out but Lavi was of no help since the vines had already wrapped around him.

"Well, it looks like we have to try a little harder buddy!" Ava herself was successfully dodging the flower vines and tried desperately to remember how she had dealt with them as a kid.

'_Come on, it should be here someplace.'_ She thought before she noticed it. A brick in the wall that was a slightly lighter shade than the others. She punched it in and a trapdoor opened. She grabbed the other two by the scruff of their necks after managing to get Lavi free and charged towards it but before they reached it more flowers came out of it.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Their vines shot out to grab them and only Lavi got caught, again.

'_One would have thought that his reflexes would be better!'_ Ava thought in annoyance as she dodged the snapping flowers.

"I don't care how nice you look or how good you smell, I officially hate flowers!" Lavi announced while trying to break free. "Ava, some help would be appreciated!" He called.

"I'm thinking!" She called back before she got caught. "Dammit!"

"Alleeeeen!" Lavi called out when he saw that she was caught but sighed when he saw his last team mate also captured. "Sorry!" Allen grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry's not gonna cut it if-" Lavi didn't manage to finish his sentence before he was swallowed.

"LAVI!"

* * *

><p>TWP: That's it. For this chapter at least. See you again next time.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

TWP: Alright, the fourth chapter! About bloody time.

**Disclaimer: I only own Ava. Damn I hate saying that -.-**

* * *

><p>"LAVI!" Allen yelled when the redhead was swallowed. Ava noticed that the vines holding her were connected to the flower that had swallowed Lavi and she pinched it. The flower opened its mouth and Lavi thought his freedom was within reach but was pushed back when Ava was thrown on him and the flower closed its petals again.<p>

"Lemme out already!" Lavi kicked and hit the flower from the inside but this only caused it to tighten the small space around them and Ava, who was straddling him, grabbed his arms, holding him down.

"Stop that, you're making it worse." She hissed as she was pressed into him.

"Making it worse? We're about to be digested!" Lavi hissed back and she hung her head.

"Didn't I tell you that I've dealt with these before?" She growled and he stilled. "Now, listen to me. Show the flowers you care about them."

"Say what?" Lavi asked her confused but she shook her head. "Just do it. You heard that Allen?" She called and his response was positive. She managed to crawl off him and began to brush her hands affectionately over the insides of the flower and muttered softly.

"What a beautiful flower you are. Would you mind letting us out?" The flower quivered for a bit and she nudged Lavi who had been watching her. "Come on. Show some love." He immediately began to do the same.

"I love you!" He began to cry and she giggled softly so he wouldn't hear and continued her ministrations. "That's right. You're a beautiful flower. I love your pink color; now please let us out so we can care more for you." The flower hesitated and it took a lot more of loving phrases and caresses before it opened its petals and Ava slid out while Lavi only sat up, halfway out and sighed. The flower didn't like that they stopped talking and began to chomp down on Lavi who grabbed its teeth and yelled some more.

"IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou!" The flower opened its petals again and he fell out. Ava patted the flower and smiled.

"That's a nice little flower." Suddenly one of them was hit by a bubble and fell down, completely dry and dead. "What's going on?"

"Where are Krory-kins?" Lavi called at the same time as Krory passed over them. "Ah, there he is!" But the bubbles came closer and closer to them and Allen dragged them to safety. All of the bubbles gathered at one place and they could hear Krory's pained cries coming from inside before they all burst into nothing and the dried out form of Krory fell down slowly.

"Arystar!" Ava called out and turned but Lavi pulled her back and saved her from being hit with a bubble that Eliade had sent after them when she noticed them. "Dammit, Arystar!"

"Get back!" Lavi yelled and pulled as she trashed around. "Lemme go, Lavi!"

"No way, you'll die!" Lavi tightened his grip and dragged her behind a pillar. Eliade turned into her human form and stood before his corpse, almost looking sad as she thought about how she met the man, but Ava didn't care about her expression. Eliade was an Akuma, an Akuma that just now killed her only living family. She was seeing red right now and Eliade was her target.

"I'll kill her." Ava growled and was about to charge towards her, not noticing Krorys corpse suddenly latching onto her neck. Ava ran forward with the other two behind her, yelling to the flowers that they loved them before they reached Eliade and Krory and watched as his body turned normal from sucking her blood. What surprised Ava though was the smile on Eliades face. She almost looked happy even though she was about to die. Krory detached himself from her neck and began to cry as Eliades voice grew soft and silent and she turned to dust. The only thing they could see was the soul leaving the mortal world.

Suddenly rain fell down upon them from the bubbles that burst. It showered both them and the flowers who soaked in it and Ava gave a sigh of relief. It was over and they were all alive. To think that a lone level 2 Akuma could give them so much trouble.

'_And now I know for sure. Arystar is an Exorcist.' _She thought as they walked up to said man who crumbled to his knees while holding Eliade's clothes.

"Are you okay, Krory?" Allen asked.

"I want to die…" Krory said brokenly. "I killed the woman I loved. I took away her life with my own hands."

"Arystar…" Ava didn't know what to say to her cousin. She had somewhat been in his shoes but she had no idea what would be a good thing to say. "But you had no choice." Allen said softly. It was true that by destroying an Akuma you set their souls free and gave them eternal rest.

"I've become the very monster I despised!" Krory said as he let the blue garments fall to the floor. "Healing my own wounds as I suck every last drop of blood from the veins of the one person who ever cared for me… Even when I knew it was going to destroy her I kept on going." He sobbed, calling himself a monster, a freak, again and again, and it cause Ava to remember when they were kids.

'_Always called a freak because of grandpa… always called a vampire or monster because of this castle… it's unfair…'_ she thought and walked over to him and dropped on her knees before him.

"She wasn't the only one who cared for you Arystar. I do." He glanced up at her with wide eyes. "I care for you. You're my cousin, family. I came here to see you, not cause this shit to happen. It's already been years right? I missed you." She smiled softly and more tears poured down his cheeks as he looked down.

"But… I hurt you… I believed Eliades words and not yours and almost killed you." He whispered but she shook her head with a chuckle.

"That wasn't enough to kill me, I promise. I've been through worse. It comes with the job." She tried to cheer him up but it didn't work. He was too lost in his grief and hearing that Ava had received worse injuries didn't really help. Ava didn't know what to do but Allen did. He went up to them and grabbed Krory by his collar and lifted him halfway up.

"If it hurts so much, why not become an Exorcist? It's the duty of all Exorcists to hunt and destroy Akuma!" He yelled. "Whether you like it or not you destroyed an Akuma named Eliade today! You did that because that's what you're meant to do."

"Hey, wait a minute-" Ava began but Lavi grabbed her arm and hauled her back, shaking his head, indicating that she should let Allen continue his lecture.

"Now you've got two choices; you can wallow here in self-pity, or you can make Eliades death worth something. She's not coming back so do the right thing and make her death worth it!" Krory tried to maintain eye contact but found it too hard and looked away.

"Krory, whether you like it or not you're an apostle of Innocence. Just like us." The moment Allen said that she felt Lavi stiffen before he gave a silent scoff. She glanced at him confused but his expression was unreadable, distant, like he wasn't agreeing with Allen. Krory tried to calm himself, his tears seemed to disappear and he slowly got up on his feet, resolve in his eyes.

"You said there was another reason as to why you were here, Ava." He recalled and Ava nodded, taking out a picture from her pocket. Krory inspected it before he told them to follow him. "He did indeed visit my castle some time ago."

"What are you here for, Ava?" Allen asked and she handed him another picture. "I'm looking for this man. I am to meet up with the rest of the unit that's looking for him." Allen stared at the picture completely frozen.

"You're looking for my master too?" She could swear he was whimpering. "The General is your master?"

Krory brought them down into his cellar and showed them an empty vase Cross had given to him and Allen went into a depressive state as he remembered what flower that had been residing in it. The flower that had once been in the vase had been one of Allens many responsibilities when he had been Cross' apprentice. The flower had also bitten Krory and then withered and it was after that that Krory had begun hunting Akuma. The four of them concluded that the flower had contained the Innocence Krory was in possession of, and for certain, it was a Parasite type.

"Do you know where the General was headed?" Lavi asked and Krory nodded.

"Yes, he said he wanted to go somewhere far away and asked me to lend him money for his travels." Allen sweatdropped and hung his head.

'_Here too?'_ Then they noticed Krorys sad expression.

"Are you okay?" Allen asked but Krory waved them off. "Please, don't worry about me. I'm fine, I really am. But can I ask a favor?" The three looked at each other before nodding. The favor was that they would wait outside the castle while he prepared himself for their journey. Not seeing the harm in that they all went out and stood by the great gate.

"Aaaah, the sun should be rising soon. That sure was a crazy night huh?" Lavi stretched his sore limbs. Allen hesitated before he replied.

"Yeah, but the only clue we got is that my master stopped by here. We still don't know where he went or _why_ he stopped by here." He seemed a little depressed. The other two weren't sure if he was depressed that they didn't find General Cross or if it was because he was gathering more debts.

"Well, we found a new Exorcist in Krory-kins so it wasn't a total waste of time." Lavi tried cheering him up but it didn't work. It was probably because Allen felt that he had almost forced the man to become an Exorcist. Ava was glad this was the outcome though, because this meant she could see her cousin more often.

"I don't know about you, but I'm so sore. One of you _are_ going to massage my back on the train, complete with an oil set, whether you like it or not." Ava pitched in as she rubbed her back with a slight wince. Having been forced through numerous stone walls in the castle had been pretty straining on her body.

"I will gladly help you!" Lavi exclaimed hurriedly with a silly grin and a heart in his eye and she laughed but Allen remained silent causing Lavi to sigh once more. "Come on, Allen, there's no need for you to act like you did something wrong. I mean, sure it may not be the ideal outcome for Krory right now but he needed a reason to go on living and you gave him exactly that. Give it some time and he'll come around, I promise." The sudden voice of Bookman startled them.

"That was an elegant speech." He almost seemed surprised by his student's way of words.

"Old fart! How long have you been _standing_ there?" Lavi glared at him accusingly. "I just got here." The old man replied.

"You really worry about me that much? I can take care of myself! I solved this case with effort than it takes to change one of your diapers-" Ava ducked as he was sent flying over her and laughed at the poor boy when he crashed into a tree.

"That hurt you geezer!" He shouted angrily but Bookman shouted back as they stood glaring at each other, faces close to each other.

"Don't talk to me about effort you slimy punk! You could have used some of that effort to avoid damaging the castle!"

"Well excuse me for trying to not get myself killed and listen before you hit me, you panda!" Allen watched them with a small smile on his face but Ava was laughing loudly, finding the moment hilarious. You could see how much the two cared for each other, like real family. She calmed herself down and wiped away the tears that had leaked from her eyes. It had been a long time since she had seen such a scene. The last time was with her brothers years ago. She turned towards the castle with a small smile on her face but just then it exploded and fire consumed it. The smile slid off her face to be replaced with horror.

"Arystar!" She screamed and made a dash for it but Allen grabbed her and kept away.

"Don't... don't tell me!" Lavi didn't voice the obvious and Ava struggled wildly in Allen's grasp.

"He's still in there!" She smashed her head into Allen's forehead, managing to break free and made a mad dash for the castle but this time Lavi tackled her to the ground and held her there.

"Let go! Please Lavi! He's still in there! ARYSTAR!" She cried out and broke down as the harsh truth of reality dawned on her. Her cousin was dead and gone. There was no way he could have survived.

"Ava, look." Lavi said and she looked up slowly. It was hard to see anything through bleary eyes but she could have sworn she saw a shadow. She wiped her eyes as Lavi helped her up in a sitting position and now she could clearly see Krory walk out of the fire, completely unscathed. He took one long look at them before he chuckled.

"Take a look at your faces. You thought I died. I'm sorry if I gave you all a scare." He apologized. "You should know I fully intend to devote my life to being an Exorcist." Allen smiled.

"Great." He nodded. Krory smiled too before he was tackled by Ava.

"You idiot! You scared me to death!" He hugged her back and laughed silently. "Sorry. I promise that it won't happen again."

"It better not, or I'll kill you myself!" He laughed again at her empty threat. "It would seem a lot scarier if you didn't cry."

"I'm not crying, dammit!"

* * *

><p>TWP: Fourth chapter is over. Whooo! Damn my hands huuuuuurt! It's a bit shorter than the other ones but still, it's an extra chapter up since some were very nice and reviewed the last chapter not even an hour after I uploaded it. Thanks xXxWolvesInTheNightxXx<p>

Read and review please!


	5. Chapter 5

TWP: Aaaaand here's the fifth chappie! :D Thank you, everyone who's reviewed and faved this story, thanks, really! By the way, I've got a poll on my profile, please check it out. God I've waited so long to publish this chapter (29 days to be exact xD) and I'm so happy that it's past midnight even if I'm supposed to get up in 5 1/2 hours...

**Disclaimer: I do not own the -Man characters… but I would LOVE to have owned Lavi!**

* * *

><p>"<em>What<em>, did you just say?" Avas voice was dangerously low as she glared at the towns people in front of her while Krory stood beside her looking down on the ground.

"It's all a fabrication! He's still a monster!" Ava glared at them, wanting to do nothing more than pounce on them and beat the living shit out of them. Krory had always been treated like that and it made her sick. "Get out and never come back again!" The mayor demanded and Krory flinched each and every time they said something.

"Monster!"

"Leave! Leave, leave, leave!"

"Monsters!" Ava couldn't hold it anymore. Huge white wings ripped out from under her coat and tore it to shreds. The men fell back in surprise and awe, watching the beautiful, feathery wings spread out as she towered over them.

"_Shut up_, before I do something I might regret!" She growled. Krory also watched the wings with awe and so did Allen and Lavi. Now that they thought about it, Ava never activated her Innocence in front of them in the castle. To them and the town's people, she looked like a furious but pretty angel right then.

"Come Arystar. Let's get the hell out of here. You're going to explore the world like you've always dreamed of and you know what? You'll meet people who'll be grateful to you for saving them." When she mentioned the last part she gave a sharp glare again at the town's people before she grabbed his hand and gently led him out of town, her wings folded themselves neatly on her back before they unfolded and stretched again, showing that they were at least three times her size. A grand sight indeed, and quite intimidating too.

"Let's leave these freaks behind." She muttered and left the stunned towns' folk behind. Allen and Lavi stared after them before they hurried after. They were both worried about Krory but Avas reaction was unexpected.

'_She's kind and loving, seemingly only to her cousin, but not afraid to speak her mind. The opposite of Arystar Krory, who's had almost no contact with the outside world.'_ Bookman thought to himself as he followed behind the four. He wondered, if he wasn't a part of the Bookman clan but was an ordinary Exorcist, would he also glare at the people like that? He glanced at his apprentice who had a hand on Krory's shoulder and was leading him away, trying to cheer him up and concluded that, yes, he would have. But it was forbidden to get attached to anyone. That was one of the most important rules for a Bookman. He just hoped that Lavi still remembered that.

* * *

><p>The mood in the carriage that they were riding on was dark. Ava was scowling; her brows furrowed on her forehead and amber eyes glinted dangerously, she had replaced the torn coat with a new one that she had stored in her bag. Krory was crying silently to himself while Lavi and Allen merely kept to themselves, not knowing what to say about what had happened in the town.<p>

"Who cares if we can't go back?" Ava, Krory and Allen stared at Lavi who had straightened his back smiling softly. "Home is where the heart is, like they say." He pointed to his heart, all cool looking and Krory threw himself over Lavi who yelped in surprise and tried to throw him off without success. Ava watched this display before she giggled. The three men looked at her confused while her laughter reached a higher volume.

"You guys are so weird."

"Hey, we're not!" They cried indignantly but her laughter caused them to join her but suddenly she stopped laughing. They stared at her and sweat dropped. She had fallen asleep.

* * *

><p>"So this is a town?" Krory asked and his companions nodded. They then ushered him off to take in the atmosphere and sights, to get a view of how the world worked outside of the castle.<p>

'_He's really different when his Innocence is deactivated.'_ Allen and Lavi thought as they waved after him.

"I've got something to do, so look after him for me." Ava suddenly said and ran down the streets.

"H-hey, Ava!" They called but she either didn't hear them or she ignored them and disappeared. "Geez, she'd better hurry up. It won't be long before the train leaves." Lavi crossed his arms before both he and Allen noticed Krory coming back with a lot of objects in his arms.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"We've got a new Exorcist. Yeah, my cousin. He'll be a valuable asset, I'm sure." A pause before she continued. "Yeah, Bookman stayed behind, it's only me, Arystar, Walker and Bookman Jr." A second pause.

"Roger that." Ava hung up and disconnected her golem before she walked out of the phone boot. She looked around and something interesting caught her eye. She walked up to the shop it was in and checked her watch.

"I've still got some time." She said to herself before walking in. She grabbed the object of interest, paid for it and left the shop, checking her clock again. "Still got some time to spare." Still, she decided to take her time to the station which resulted in her losing the train.

"…. You've gotta be shitting me…" She sighed and walked out of the station, then out of the town and into the forest before she activated her Innocence. Her wings spread out and she took off, hoping to catch up with the train. It didn't take her long and when she finally got on board, she began to look for her companions. She opened the door and walked into a compartment with five persons. One of them was sitting in only their underwear, all of his stuff beside the man with his back to her.

'_Poor fool.' _She thought before she saw who it was. The door behind Krory opened and in stepped Allen and Lavi who seemed shocked too at what was happening.

"Oh, sorry. This ain't the sort of place for kids." The man with his back to her said and she walked up to them silently and began cracking her knuckles.

"I think I'm a legal adult." She said and all seven jumped startled and turned to her. "Ah, sorry then. Ready for another round, mack?" The man asked and Krory hesitated.

"You're not going back on the bet are you? You already accepted." They pushed and Ava sighed. She was about to interfere but Allen had already taken off his coat and betted it in Krorys place. The leader chuckled and accepted, ready to get a higher prize.

"I can't believe it." Ava stared with wide eyes at the group of men sitting in only their underwear while all their stuff lay piled up beside Allen. She wasn't sure if she should feel pity for them or being afraid of Allen, who had such an innocent expression on his face. Even Lavi was at a loss for words and that wasn't something that happened often. The men demanded one more round.

"Alright, but I'll have to ask you to wash your boxers before you hand them over." Allen smiled innocently.

"You're doing awfully well here… I thought you were Mr. Unlucky." Lavi whispered to Allen who replied with a straight face.

"Well, I'm cheating." Lavi gaped at him. "You serious? I didn't take you for that type."

"They cheated Krory in the first place." Allen put four cards on the table and put his hand over the deck and four new fell out from his sleeve.

"Eh?" Lavi's eye widened. "I never lose at cards." Allen declared confidently as he recalled his past. "I had to polish my skills to pay off my master's various debts."

"Skills?" Lavi asked but regretted it almost immediately since Allen's expression turned from innocent to look like a devil.

"So, I_ never_ lose at cards! The three of them cheated before so I'm just paying them back in kind." His laughter was deep and dark making Lavi and Ava sweatdrop.

'_Allen's got an awfully dark past. What did his master make him do?'_ Lavi thought in pity, noting that his own may have been a dance on roses compared to the white haired boy's.

'_Poor, poor boy. I feel for you.'_ Ava thought with a nervous smile on her face. With another innocent expression he put down his cards, showing four of a kind. Then the train stopped and the name was called over speaker.

"Ferdoille Station!" The group was getting off there and jumped off the train in only their underwear except the kid. Before they left though, Allen held their suitcases out from the window.

"Here, I got my friend's stuff back, so there's no need to make you guys suffer." Allen said and they smirked.

"Boy, we're not so pitiful as to accept your charity." The one with glasses said and the four Exorcists sweatdropped.

"Then… why did you grab a hold of it?" Allen asked. "Oh, well look at that. Thank goodness. We were about to die of cold, there!" He said happily after they had gotten dressed. He threw the deck of cards to Allen who caught it. "That should make us square!" He called and Allen nodded and waved before getting back in and closing the window.

"Would you like a flower?" A little girl held a pink rose up to Krory who took a step back, not sure if this was a trick too or not. "Please take one."

"No thanks, I'd rather not." Krory replied kindly as he remembered that Allen and Lavi got a little bit ticked off the last time he bought something. He opened his eyes and noted with horror that the girl was on the verge of crying. A hand appeared on his shoulder and Ava smiled at the girl.

"He changed his mind. We both want a flower." She smiled at the girl who brightened up immediately and handed them one flower each before skipping off happily. "Sometimes it's alright to enjoy simple pleasures like these. You just have to be careful of what you do, nothing more. Here." She handed him a wrapped box with a red bow and he stared at it in confusion before he stared at her.

"It's a gift." She reassured him and he opened it, his eyes widening. He found a silver necklace with a pendant that one could open. He wondered what was inside and she nodded. He opened it and gasped. Inside the pendant a picture of a child version of him, Tristan, Duke and a baby version of Ava. She opened the collar of her jacket and pulled out her own pendant with the very same picture.

"So we remember why we're fighting." She reasoned and tears welled up in his eyes. He hastily rubbed them away though and nodded.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry about that. He's a bit paranoid." Komui apologized for the trouble Krory and the others had with the gatekeeper who had mistaken Krory for an Akuma because of the Akuma blood that was still in his system.<p>

"It was your bloody robot that gave us the most trouble!" Ava tried to strangle the Supervisor but was held back by Lavi and Allen. Said man fell over his desk and began to cry.

"Komurin 4!" He wailed as he remembered how horribly the robot had been torn to pieces by Ava. She had become frightening the moment it had laid its eye on her. She saw what it had done to Lavi and refused to be toyed with so her wings had grown from beautiful angel wings to a more grotesque version. They had looked like huge hands coming from her back. They had coiled themselves around Komurin 4 and torn him apart, limb by limb.

"And you're supposed to be my superior?" She struggled more and almost reached him before she was pulled back again.

"A-anyway, we only found Krory-kins in the castle. General Cross was already gone." Lavi told Komui as he finally managed to calm her down.

"My, my, where could he be?" Komui sighed. That had been one of their last options and they were running out of leads fast. "Well anyway, it's good that we found Krory. By the way…" He got a sinister expression and dragged Krory with him. He was taken down to his personal infirmary and there he was strapped to a chair. Wondering what was going on, he looked around but fear welled up in him as Komui walked up to him.

Screams could be heard outside and the four Exorcists waiting outside flinched. Allen winced as he remembered how he too had been tricked in there when he first arrived.

"I've been in there once… and I tell you, it will not happen again!" Ava shivered as she tried to force out the memories of when she had joined the order four years ago.

"What did he do to you?" Lavi asked but held up his hands in defense and took a few steps back by the expression she showed on her face. "F-forget I asked." Sometime later they both came out, Krory having an expression between horror and depression as they walked down towards the elevator that would take them to Hevlaska. Once there, the poor man freaked out when Hevlaska grabbed him and checked his synchronization rate. Everyone except Komui laughed as they recalled how they had reacted to Hevlaska when they arrived at the order. It was funny how everyone's reaction was the same.

* * *

><p>"Will I be able to live in this place for the rest of my life?" Krory thought out loud and Ava laughed.<p>

"Don't worry Arystar. It ain't all that bad. I should know, I've been here for the last four years." Krory was about to ask how she ended up in the Black Order but she pushed him inside a door and his eyes widened. Inside the cafeteria a huge crowd had gathered with Lavi, Allen, Bookman and Lenalee in front of them all. Over them a banner with the letters Welcome Arystar Krory, hung. Said man walked in with wide eyes, not completely believing his eyes.

"Why you just standin' around, Krory-kins?" Lavi called snapping him out of his stupor. "It's your party."

"We all pitched in to get it ready." Allen added. "All for me?" Krory muttered as he looked down at the floor, a slight blush on his cheeks. Lenalee walked up to him with a smile, holding a cup with the initials A.K on them.

"Here you go. This is your cup." He took it with both hands and thanked her.

"Welcome to your new home, Krory." Allen said and so everyone in the room repeated what he had said. The feeling of happiness overwhelmed Krory and tears made their way down his cheeks. He was doing a lot of crying lately, but this time it was from happiness and not grief.

"Hey, hey, you crying again, Krory-kins?" Lavi teased and Krory turned to him.

"T-tears of joy!" He clarified and used the teens' scarf to blow his nose. "Krory!" The teen exclaimed in annoyance causing the others to laugh. Ava tugged on the scarf, making the red head turn to her. She unwrapped it and balled it up in her hands.

"I'll wash it for you, since he's my cousin." She grinned and he rubbed his head. "Thanks."

"To our new friend and comrade: Arystar Krory!" Komui announced and raised his glass with the rest following him. "Cheers!" Krory walked into the crowd, finding this too good to be real but he wasn't paying attention to where he was going so he bumped into Komurin 4 Mini, a robot that was made for cleaning. It wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't for the Exorcist being clumsy enough to spill his herbal tea on it, causing it to malfunction.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Reever asked Komui who nodded.

"It's 100 % safe. Komurin 4 Mini, clean up!" He ordered and the robot nodded and went up to him. Komui was a bit confused but yelped in surprise when the robot took out make up.

"Cleaning complete!" The robot announced and everyone saw Komuis face, fixed up to look like a geisha.

"Make-up?" Allen exclaimed in disbelief. "You're all so dirty!" The robot announced and brought out more of its equipment. Lenalee growled and activated her Innocence.

"Screw off!" She yelled and kicked the robot out into outer space. "Are you alright, everyone?" She asked but stopped when she saw their faces. The only ones who had escaped from its ''attack'' were Lenalee and Ava. Ava took one long look at Lavi, Allen, Krory and Bookman. There was a silence, the four wondering why she was staring until her cheeks puffed up and a giggle escaped. Then one more until she was laughing like there was no tomorrow.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Hilarious!" She yelled and fell to the floor, her legs not being able to support her. "You better record this Cam!" She told her golem, a round ball with wings. It immediately scanned their faces.

"H-hey, wait a minute!" Lavi said nervously as he noticed the evil glint in her eye. "What are you going to do with that?"

"Why, I'm going to download this into the computer systems so everyone in the Order can see it, even those from the other Branches." She said innocently and took off. Wasting no time, Lavi, Krory and Allen rushed after her while Lenalee only laughed.

"Wait, did her golem record us too?" Reever asked and Lenalee only laughed harder. "Get her!" The entire Science Dept. and all the Finders raced after her too. But even though they were having such a good time at the moment, laughing without a care in the world, sinister things were happening outside of their knowledge. A dark era would come, and it was already on their doorstep.

* * *

><p>TWP: Alright, fifth chapter over with. Review because honestly, that button down there is lonely. I mean it, I talked to it last night.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

TWP: I hope you don't think that I'm stupid for following the original story. If you don't like it, then don't read. Don't think that I've merely created a character that has a few sentences here and there. I'm trying not to do that. This fic is merely something I write because I enjoy writing. Keep in mind that even if this story isn't the greatest (which I never think about my own work) there are good authors that manage to write a lot of good stories even if they follow the original story line. I'm just not that good at it.

No, I'm not pointing at anyone in particular while I tell you this, I'm just telling you this now so you guys won't show prejudice for any story that follows the plot line without reading it first. If this makes you feel like I'm yelling or scolding you, then believe me when I say it's not like that. I love you guys, really. You read, favorite and review after all.

Btw... SCREW UPDATING ONLY ONCE A MONTH!

**Disclaimer: I only own Ava. No more, no less. Seriously, would I even BE HERE if I owned -man? (It wouldn't be as awesome as it is if I did, after all ^^,)**

* * *

><p>"Aw man…" Ava sighed as she stared out of the window in her room. "It's raining again." She sighed again and got up and out of her room. She might as well see if there was anyone to converse with in the cafeteria. Though she probably would only find Finders or scientists since most of the Exorcists were out on missions except Kanda. He was still in HQ but she found him to be a poor conversationalist and Lavi was with Bookman, stuck in their room, studying history he still hadn't memorized.<p>

'_Or maybe Komui's got a mission. I'll check on him first.' _she thought as she walked up the stairs to his office. There she was met with a long line of people consisting solely of the Science Dept. Suddenly they all scattered around and she managed to get in but what she saw was disturbing.

"Hey Chief, it's from a contact from Austria. He received a message from the Earl and it's exactly what Kanda said." Reever said. She frowned. What was going on? Had the Earl finally shown himself?

"Same here! Our Exorcists in Hungary are reporting it too!" Johnny called.

"Oh… my…" Komui was speechless and Ava was growing restless. As the Supervision of HQ there wasn't much that made Komui speechless and she knew that. She was getting a bad feeling about this.

'_Whatever is going on, I hope the others are alright.'_ She thought of Lenalee and Allen who were out on missions still and the rest of the Exorcists too. But the one she was worried for the most right now was her mentor. The Science Dept. put down their papers and hurried back to their labs and library and almost trampled down Ava who jumped to the side. Reever, Johnny and Tapp stayed behind and immediately after they put down their papers a phone called. Reever eagerly answered and turned back to Komui.

"Chief, its General Yeegars men! They're under attack!"

"What?" First then did the two notice Ava standing in the doorway.

"Ava-" Komui began but she had already rushed up to his desk. "Lemme go and help them Komui! Please!" She pleaded.

"Two people who are confirmed to be from the Clan of Noah and a dozen Akuma hijacked his carriage!" Reever called and Komui shot up from his chair, no longer hesitating.

"Ava, you leave immediately! You should be able to find them faster than anyone! Reever, confirm their location immediately! We'll convey it to Ava once we've found it. Notify every Exorcist that General Yeegar is under attack from the Clan of Noah. Anyone within the vicinity should report there at once!" Ava had already taken off, running out of the door and jumped over the railing. Lavi walked by with an open book in his hands and saw her jump.

"Ava?" He ran forward to look down but fell back when she shot up again and right through the glass roof at the top, causing shards to rain down.

'_What the hell?'_ He thought, holding up his arms as a shield and saw Johnny, Mavi and Tapp run out from the Supervisor's office.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked as they passed by him.

"General Yeegar is under attack!" Johnny called over his shoulder. "Every Exorcist must get to the scene now and help!" His eyes widened and he ran to his room, collecting his hammer and jacket before running out of the door, where he met Bookman.

"Gramps-" He began but the old man interrupted him. "I already know. It's the Noah."

She could hear explosions. And she also knew the location. Reever had notified her a few minutes ago.

'_Please god, let me be on time!'_ She thought and strained her wings to go faster. She could see them! General Yeegar was engaging the enemy, there were only two left, and she had made it. She accelerated as she swooped down. Almost there, almost there, she was so close, she couldn't help but feel a bit of relief, but only a bit. She saw how the General was wobbling on his feet as he swung his chains around. He attacked but the chains were repelled and he was hit by a dark purple and black light and fell back on the ground. She was now so close she could see their expression and what horrified her was the soft smile on Yeegars face. Such expressions on the battlefield were never a good sign.

"General Yeegar~!" She screamed as his head turned to the side and he didn't move anymore. The two Noah on the ground looked up and jumped back just in time to avoid her kick as she landed beside the General. She carefully lifted his upper body.

"General Yeegar?" She whispered and his eyes opened slightly.

"Ava… is that you?" She nodded with a smile. "Yeah. C'mon, let's escape." She said but he grabbed her arm.

"It is already too late for me, child." Her brows furrowed and her expression turned disbelieving. "No, no it's not too late. We can make it." She shook her head, not wanting to listen.

"It is too late. Take the Innocence in my mantle. Take it and go."

"No, no I won't leave you here!" She shook her head more violently, tears gathering in her eyes as she argued with the old man.

"Ava… out of all my apprentices… you were the one who was like a daughter to me…" He reached up and put his hand on her cheek. She immediately put her hand over his. "And you're like a father to me." She whispered.

"Did I… manage to protect my students?" She closed her eyes tightly and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you did. You were the best teacher ever!"

"Good… good…" His hand went slack and fell from her cheek. Her eyes shot open and she realized that General Yeegar was dead. Dead and gone. She heard footsteps behind her and could feel the leering faces of the Noah behind her.

"Well, he sure took his sweet time. I hate those who just won't die quickly." She twitched as she realized the dangers of her situation.

'_Noah… it's the Noah. I've gotta… I've gotta…'_ Something snapped within her and she saw red.

(P.S: Here I suggest you listen to the track Elfen Lied – Lilium music box Extended)

"FUCKING KILL YOU!" She screamed and her wings transformed into giant, grotesque hands. She managed to grab one of them, Road Kamelot, but Tyki Mikk managed to get away.

"What is this?" Road yelped when the hands tightened their grip on her. "Heh, like this could ever hurt me!" She gloated, not at all intimidated by the Exorcist who held her in her grasp.

"The General was so easy to get rid of, I bet you're easier!" She shut her mouth though, and felt fear well up in her when Ava turned to look over her shoulder, her once amber eyes glowed green as green glowing tears made their way down her cheeks. Fear was an emotion that Road knew little of. There weren't many times she had felt it but now every instinct in her told her to run, to get away from the Innocence and it's wielder, and to hide. Of course she couldn't move. The Exorcist had a very good grip on her.

"Tyki! Get me out of here!" She called. Tyki would have sighed, if it wasn't for one thing. He could detect a hint of fear in Roads voice. That was pretty unsettling to him so he decided to go all out, but before he could charge Ava was already in front of him and punched him. He flew backwards and clutched his cheek.

'_What the… I was supposed to go through her!'_ He got to his feet and rushed again, ready to go through her but again he was hit by her punch and he fell back again. He growled and got up but then he noticed it. Her arms were glowing green.

'_Innocence. She can manipulate the Innocence to cover her body. Is she a Parasite type?'_ he thought and leaped into the air before landing behind her. Before she could react he grabbed the wing-hand holding Road and used his power to rip it off.

"GRAAAAH!" Ava screamed in pain as the limb was ripped from her back. She fell forward as she bled from the hole on her back. Road got out from its grip and dusted herself off, shuddering in disgust as she watched the hand-like thing twitch on the ground.

"What took you so long?" She whined and Tyki waved her off.

"She covered herself in Innocence. I couldn't phase through her. She's got a strong Parasite type." He explained and realization hit them. "You think she could be the heart?" Excitement rose up in Road, pushing away the fear she had felt earlier.

"Maybe. She's stronger than what I've met until now though." Tyki smirked. "This may actually turn fun. Such a shame it's her though."

"What do you mean?" Road asked confused and he shook his head, saying it was nothing. He remembered her being a part of the group who cheated him in cards. He sighed again, thinking it was too bad. She was so good looking too.

"Let's end this." He said to Road and walked up to Ava, lifting his arm, ready to grab her heart and rip it out but just then green particles in the air swirled around him. They almost looked like miniature fireflies. For a moment he was stunned by their beauty, he let his hand fall and didn't react when they gathered and entered the wound on Avas back. The one wing-hand she had left entered her body too, leaving her open and vulnerable. Tyki shook himself out of his stupor and lifted his hand again but before he could react a white substance shot out from her all over her back and he was forced to jump back for the substance burned him.

"What is going on now?" Road called as he inspected the damage on his arms. "I think it's… raw Innocence." He muttered as they watched her body convulse. The substance gathered around her feet and she shot up in the air, the Innocence making a pillar she was glued to and the substance on her back spread out, looking like fairy wings now, bigger and thinner than her usual ones, not only stretching up to the high sky but also pointing towards the ground. Her eyes still glowed green and the tears that ran down her cheeks still were also affected by the glow.

The pillar formed a white blade that was thrown at them. They dodged but more came and the pillar grew thinner and thinner for every blade. They suddenly stopped coming altogether.

"Heh, a major flaw in that attack. She ran out of material." Tyki smirked but it was wiped off when the blades that were embedded in the ground suddenly turned to green particles, like the hand before, and gathered around the pillar, seeping into it and it grew thicker again.

"Alright, maybe it wasn't a major flaw." The male Noah groaned. "But how is she doing it? Normally, Parasite types can only manipulate their bodies to become weapons."

"I don't think she's in control Tyki." Road said. "Look at her. She seems crazy! I don't think she knows what's going on. Maybe it's the Innocence." Tyki didn't like the thought but if he thought about how things were going he had to agree. He glanced at General Yeegar and frowned.

"We still need to take the Innocence from him." He pointed out and Road grinned. "I'll do that. You just keep her busy." He nodded and called out a few Teases but the moment Road was close to the General's body, Avas head turned sharply towards her. Road jumped startled and narrowly dodged the blades.

"She's not letting me through! This has gone on for long enough!" She growled and activated her ability. "I'm going to destroy her heart!" But nothing worked. When Road invoked her ability she found nothing. She only found a crying girl. A child that looked a lot like the girl they were facing in the world of reality. The crying girl turned towards Road with wide, sorrowful eyes.

"Was it you?" She asked and Road raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Was it you that killed everyone?" Then, bodies appeared, mangled and decapitated bodies.

"This isn't my work. Good work, but not mine." Road answered and the girl looked down on the ground. "Oh." She muttered silently.

"Then… why're you here?" Road was about to answer when a hand came out of her chest. She looked over her shoulder and saw Ava, her eyes amber now, but cold.

"I guess you could say it _was_ me." She said darkly and Road was thrown out from the dark space and back into reality.

"We're getting out of here Road." Tyki had grabbed her and was running. She craned her neck and saw Allen, Lenalee, Lavi, Bookman and the Finders that had originally been a part of General Yeegars squad.

"Allen!" She exclaimed and waved cheerfully.

"Don't be so friendly with him!" Tyki exclaimed in annoyance and she stuck her tongue out at him. "Don't be such a killjoy." She retorted and he laughed.

"What the…" The Exorcists and Finders stared at the pillar and then Ava, who was still glued in her state of instability. None of them went after the fleeing Noah.

"What's wrong with Ava?" Allen asked as he took a step forward but Bookman stopped him. "Wait, we don't know what she might do. This has never happened before in the records of the Black Order. We must tread carefully." Lenalee fell to her knees and covered her mouth with her hands as tears ran down her cheeks.

'_Don't tell me… that Ava became a Fallen One?'_ she thought in horror. Before anyone could react Lavi had extended his hammer and were now at eye-level with the girl.

"Idiot! What are you doing?" Bookman yelled as he examined General Yeegar but Lavi paid him no heed. The girl's head hung downwards and didn't even react when he had appeared in front of her.

"Ava?" Her head shot up and he almost lost his grip on the handle because of the shock. Her eyes still glowed green and it unsettled him. It didn't feel like the girl he knew. This was someone else, yet it wasn't.

"Ava." He tried again. "The enemy is gone, you won. It's over." He said it slowly, so he was sure she would understand, if she even heard him. No response.

"Ava. Listen to me. It's over, there's no one left to fight. They're gone. They ran away." He spoke in simple, short sentences and this time he swore he could see her twitch in response. "Calm down, please. Just stop your invocation. You don't need it anymore." Her hands twitched now before slowly moving up. From the corner of his eyes he could see Bookman and Allen activate their Innocence and Ava turned sharply towards them, eyes narrowing and lips curling into a snarl. Without thinking about the consequences he grabbed her hands and held them up.

"See? We mean no harm. Calm down. Stop your invocation." She tilted her head, an innocent and naive expression on her face before opening her mouth.

"Gone? No enemy left?" Her voice was young, childish and foreign, it didn't sound like her. He nodded. "Yeah. All gone. You protected General Yeegars Innocence. You did well."

"Mentor dead. Me did no good." He grew worried over the lack of emotion in her voice and how broken her language was.

"But you protected him from the enemy." He said and she looked at him confused again. "Innocence failed. Did not destroy enemy." He frowned.

'_Innocence failed? Is it her talking or the Innocence itself? No, impossible. Innocence is only the tool we need to destroy akuma, nothing more.'_ He thought to himself and shook his head.

"People don't have to die all the time. So please Ava, return to normal." She blinked a few times before the pillar that was rooted to the ground slowly turned into green particles. The three on the ground watched in awe.

"Is that… her Innocence?" Allen asked Bookman who only stared. "I don't know. Something like this has never occurred before, but I think that it might be it." He answered the boy. He was glad he and Lavi had both come here. He didn't know how he was going to put what had happened here into words on paper. He didn't know how to describe this phenomenon.

"That's it, you're doing good." There was nothing left of the pillar now and the particles of Innocence gathered around her and sunk into her body. Her wings still stayed out and kept her up in the air.

"You sure no more enemy?" She asked again and he nodded. "Yeah. You just have to trust me." She seemed to contemplate it for a moment before she began to descend to the ground slowly. Lavi followed after just as slow.

"Allen, call Komui, Finders, you help me get General Yeegar to a hospital. He's still alive!" Bookman barked and Allen and the Finders jumped into action. The moment Ava and Lavi landed on the ground she turned sharply towards the five Exorcists and Finders who were trying to lift General Yeegar up as gently as they could. Her hand snapped up and she pointed it at them but Lavi immediately grabbed her wrist and shook his head.

"They're friends." He said but she only continued to stare at him. "Friends." He repeated and she relaxed her arm.

"I can trust… right?" She asked and the wings on her back retracted into her body so quickly and forcefully that she fell forward. He grabbed her and tried to steady her only to realize that she had fainted. With a frown on his face he picked her up and hurried over to the others.

"We've gotta hurry. She's got a pretty nasty wound on her back." He told his master and the members of the Black Order hurried out of the open area and to the closest town.

* * *

><p>TWP: Aah, here ya go. This whole chapter had only A LITTLE bit from the episode. The Innocence was saved, and something weird happened to Ava. Sorry if my descriptions of how she looked weren't all that good and if there are any artists out there who love to draw characters from anime and manga, then I would like to say: Please, anyone wanna draw Ava? Pleeeeeeaaaase? With sugar on top? And then put it out on Deviantart or photobucket or the likes so I can see? I myself can't draw to save my life xD<p>

And here is how I pictured her wings when she went amuck on that pillar, go to www . mangareader . net and look up: Ubel Blatt chapter 35 page 1 ^-^

Wow, this is the longest AN I've left at the end of a chapter for a looooong time.


	7. Chapter 7

TWP: Hey, I'm back! I'm really starting to get ideas but alas, so many ideas, so little time and of course, everything piled up in one story makes it a disaster.

**Disclaimer: I only own Ava. No one else. Oh, and Tristan and Duke, if someone remember them.**

* * *

><p>Komui stared at Bookman, who had his arms crossed with a grave look on his face.<p>

"Are you serious?" The old man nodded. "I'm very serious. She may be the Heart." Komui put a hand on the wall for support as he felt his knees turn to rubber.

"You mean to tell me that Ava may be in the possession of the Heart…" It was unbelievable. Bookman had given him a full explanation on what had happened after their arrival at the scene and Avas golem, Cam, had also showed him what she/it had recorded of the battle. Komui realized after thinking a bit about it that the cause may have been that her sorrow had triggered her Innocence in some way. The way she had acted had not been humane; it was more like she had become a living weapon.

"The way you describe it… It's almost like you're saying she was an Akuma… Not of Dark Matter but of Innocence."

"It may very well have been so. She was dangerous Komui; she knew nothing of friend or foe. I've never witnessed anything like this in my lifetime and I have found nothing like this mentioned in the records either. Lavi and I will research this when we return to HQ." Komui sighed as he sat down.

"Allen is the 'Destroyer of Time' and Ava may be the Heart. This is too much for me right now." He felt so tired. The General was alive but not well, or rather, sane was the word he was looking for. "And when she wakes up and learns of what happened to her mentor… poor girl."

"General Yeegar was her mentor?" Bookman asked and Komui nodded.

"General Yeegar was the one who found her. He didn't give me any details and there isn't much to be found in her personal file either but from what I know they had a father-daughter relationship. She respected him and loved him very much. And to top it all of I did a reading on her health with a tool I made with the help of Hevlaska." Komui seemed even sadder and Bookman noticed this.

"What did you find?" He asked and Komui looked up. "Parasite types don't live as long as other humans because of the strain the Innocence put on their bodies…" Komui began but paused. He didn't need to continue because the old man understood.

"She's lost time, hasn't she?"

"The readings aren't accurate but even if I made Hevlaska check her out it would be the same. She may only have lost a few days or she can have lost years. I can't be sure of how many." Komui stared at Bookman with a serious expression. "No one can know about this. Especially not Krory, Lavi, Allen or Lenalee. I'm going to tell Ava myself when she wakes up but the others will hear it from her only!" He said sharply and the old man nodded.

"I have no interest in blabbing about the girl's personal health." At this Komui gave a wry smile. "At least we agree on something."

* * *

><p>"Lenalee, you should get some rest." She looked up and saw Allen and Lavi look at her in worry. She gave a weak smile and shook her head.<p>

"I'm alright." She said but they gave her a look that said that she had no choice but to listen to them so she sighed and stood up and followed the two before stopping. "What about Ava? Shouldn't we check on her first? See if she's awake?" She asked and Lavi turned around.

"I'll do it." He said and left them. Once he came to her door he knocked once, then twice.

"Ava, you awake?" He got no response so he opened the door thinking that she was still unconscious but once he was in he saw that there was no one in there. The only thing in there was the bed sheets that lay crumpled on the floor and also a few bits of bandages.

"Shit!" He swore and ran out again, wondering where she could have gone when he found another piece of bandage to his left. A thought struck him and he ran for General Yeegars room. He opened it slowly and peeked in, the voice of the broken General reaching his ears.

"The Lord Millennium is in search of you,

Looking for the Heart now,

Have you heard the news?

I was not the one he sought,

Maybe it is you."

The song gave him goose bumps but he had found who he was looking for. Sitting on her knees with her arms and head resting in the old man's lap, Ava slept. Her face was turned towards the door but her eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful it made his gut wrench when he thought about what had happened.

"The Lord Millennium is in search of you,

Looking for the Heart no,

Have you heard the news?"

Lavi walked up to them and reached for Ava, intending to bring her back to her own hospital room, but she suddenly spoke.

"When I was a kid… I loved to listen to him sing." He paused and retracted his hand as her eyes opened. "He was always so nice, I felt like I had a family again. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have had the strength to fight Akuma." She said and turned to look at the old man.

"I was not the one he sought,

Maybe it is you."

She stared at her former mentor who only kept his gaze on the roof over them, continuing to sing the song like he was in a trance. Lavi didn't say anything. There was nothing he could say that would be able to cheer her up and not make things worse. She stared silently at her mentor for a few minutes.

"He said I was strong… He always complimented me on my skills. He complimented the beauty of my wings and my speed." She paused again before she reached up for him but hesitated and let her hand fall down again. "And I failed him. I failed him when he needed me the most."

"Ava, you know that's not true." Lavi said as he kneeled down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I wasn't strong enough! I wasn't fast enough! If I had been stronger he wouldn't have been reduced to -to this!" she turned on him and pushed him away causing him to lose his balance and fall back. She immediately turned back to Yeegar who continued to chant the song and stared with an expression filled with grief.

"Don't you dare tell me you know grief! You're the successor to Bookman!" She whispered and buried her face in the General's lap. "You don't know how… this feels." Her whole body began to tremble terribly before heavy breathing could be heard.

"I just… I'm weak! I'm not strong enough… I'll never be strong enough!" She breathed heavily; trying to control her body, stop its trembling and keep herself from crying anymore but Lavi had already gotten off the floor and was behind her again.

"Ava…" He grabbed her shoulder and turned her around to face him. His heart gave a squeeze with a foreign feeling as he saw her expression. She was desperately trying to keep the tears from falling and he rubbed her arms.

"It's okay to cry." What else could he say? He knew it wasn't healthy to keep one's emotions to oneself at times such as these. She stared for a moment before she threw herself into his chest. It surprised him and he fell back on his butt again with her draped across his chest. He didn't know what to for a moment. He had never encountered a situation such as this before. Slowly he put his arms around her and she tightened her grip on his jacket.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it, Lavi I'm sorry!" She cried out.

"The Lord Millennium is in search of you,

Looking for the Heart now,

Have you heard the news?"

He glanced up at the General, silently wishing that he would stop singing, even if for just one moment, so they wouldn't have to be reminded why they were in this situation. She really didn't need it right now. His left hand slid up to rest on the back of her head.

"You're right. I'm the successor to Bookman, so I don't feel what you feel. It's alright." He said and she broke down.

"U-uwaaaaah!" He rubbed her back and hair as she cried and rested his chin on the top of her head. "It's alright. Just let it all out." He said softly.

"It's alright."

"I was not the one he sought,

Maybe it is you."

* * *

><p>The day after Ava woke up only to find Komui in her room, sitting in a chair. His expression was grave and she felt dread course through her veins.<p>

"Don't… please don't." She said and hung her head when he closed his eyes. She pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them. "I thought so. I had hoped he would survive."

"I'm sorry Ava." Komui said but she shook her head. "Don't. There's nothing you could have done so you shouldn't feel sorry." She smiled weakly.

"He was beyond saving…" Komui stood up and walked over to her bed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know you have a lot on your mind and what I'm going to tell you isn't something you need right now, but it's important that you know." She looked at him quizzically and he took a deep breath.

"Ava, what happened after you found General Yeegar has shortened your lifespan." Her eyes widened in shock and he sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's important that you know this so you won't do it again."

"Do what?" He looked at her in confusion now. "What do you mean? What is it that I can't do again?" she asked.

"You… don't know?" He was confused now. Didn't she know what had happened? Had a memory loss occurred or had she simply buried the memories because of the trauma of losing her father figure?

"What do you mean Komui? What is it that I don't know?" She grabbed his sleeve and stared at him in desperation. "What happened after Bookman and the others saved me and Yeegar? Lavi didn't tell me how they fought off the Noah before they left!" His eyes widened in surprise.

"What do you-? Ava, it wasn't Allen and the others who fought the Noah, it was you." Ava's eyes widened in both shock and fear and she was frozen until she snapped out of it and shook her head.

"No way… I can't remember it. You must've gotten it wrong. I-I can't have fought the Noah, I'm not strong enough to hold two of them off. They knocked me out because I had my back turned to them!" She insisted but Komui shook his head and held out her golem.

"Cam recorded it and so did the Bookman. Watch." He demanded and Cam showed them the battle between her and the Noah. It had been short but Ava was horrified of how she had fought, and it was also in a form she had never used before. She was horrified at the sight of the creature she had become. She watched as Tyki ripped her wing off and how she had transformed completely, how she relentlessly attacked the Noah and how they had fled when the others had shown up. She turned even more worried when it seemed like she was about to attack her allies but Lavi stopped her and then she turned back to normal.

She embraced herself and shook with terror. Had she really become such a monster, even if it was only for a short time? What would have happened if they hadn't been able to return her to normal? Would she go around attacking humans? Would she kill her comrades? Images of bodies lying around her appeared, the same bodies that Road had seen though Ava didn't remember that, and then they were replaced with everyone she knew at the order. Lavi, Allen, Lenalee, Kanda and Bookman lying in a circle around her, the Science Dept. a little farther off, the Finders weren't even recognizable anymore but someone grabbed a hold of her. Krory stared at her with cold, dead eyes.

She screamed.

Komui immediately reached for her.

Everything went black.

* * *

><p>"Why? Why did you kill him? Your own brother! And what are those things on your back?"<p>

"I-it wasn't me! Mommy, it wasn't me!" The hand and wing on her back grew bigger as another man ran up to her. She turned as she heard his heavy footsteps. He transformed, her mother screamed, sounds of gunshots could be heard and then there was a sea of blood. It was her turn to scream.

* * *

><p>Amber eyes opened slowly, the white roof slowly coming into focus.<p>

"You're finally awake." She glanced to her left and saw Komui smile gently at her.

"Where… am I?" She rasped out and reached for her throat, surprised at how hoarse her voice was. Komui chuckled and replied that she was back at the Order and that she had been unconscious for a week. She nodded in acknowledgement and closed her eyes again.

"Are you tired?" She shook her head.

"No."

"It seemed like you had a bad dream. You were tossing and turning a lot." There was a pause.

"It was only a dream." Komui waited, wondering if she would say anything more but she didn't.

"Krory should be finished with his mission soon. You want me to tell him you're here when he comes back?" She opened her eyes again and tried to sit up and winced as she felt dull pain on her back. Komui helped her up and asked again.

"Yeah… I would like that." She smiled and he nodded, walking out. She inspected the infirmary room she was in and found her jacket. She slowly put her feet on the ground, testing their strength before standing up. She was a bit wobbly at first but she managed to get to the chair that her jacket rested on. She searched her pockets and found what she was looking for. A pack of cigarettes and her lighter. She went up to the window and opened it before she lit a cigarette. She took one long drag before she breathed out.

"That feels good." She breathed and took another one. She was half-way finished with it when an Exorcist came in through the door.

"You're still on that crap?" She turned and saw Daisya Barry walk in with a grin. She smiled happily and put out the cigarette and laid it on the windowsill. "Daisya!"

"In the flesh, girlie." He said and walked up to her giving her a hug she happily returned.

"How are you? How did your last mission go?" She asked and he laughed while ruffling her hair.

"Isn't it supposed to be me asking those questions since it's you who's in the infirmary?" She blushed in embarrassment and he chuckled. "I'm fine, really." She answered his unspoken question and reassured him with a smile when she noticed his worried expression.

"Doesn't look fine to me." He poked her bandaged back lightly and she winced. "I almost didn't even touch you. What kind of Akuma could get the best of you?" He asked and she frowned darkly.

"It wasn't an Akuma… It was a Noah." She growled and his eyes widened.

"Shit, really?" She nodded and told him how they looked and how she had been just a few seconds too late from saving her mentor. He hugged her again reassuringly and let his fingers run through her soft hair.

"It'll be alright, Ava. It'll be alright." He whispered as she clutched his jacket. She wondered if she should show him what Cam had recorded of the fight but terror passed through her when she thought about it. What if thought of her as a freak? What if he shunned her? She couldn't risk it. She shook her head and he loosened his grip and looked down.

"What's wrong?" She looked up with a smile again. "Nothing. But I've really missed you." She said and he smirked.

"Missed you too." He leaned down and caught her lips with his own as his arms snaked around her waist and hers wound around his neck. She moaned into the kiss and he chuckled as he released her. She pouted in disappointment.

"More." She demanded childishly and he grinned mischievously. "Nope. You're hurt after all and need a lot of rest." He teased and she growled before pushing him to the wall.

"I'll manage." She smirked and kissed him again and since he had only been teasing her he had no objections. The only thing he didn't like was that _he_ was the one who was pressed to the wall. He turned them around but was careful not to aggravate her wound further. He left her lips and left a wet trail down her neck causing her to moan louder as his hands slid up and down her sides and left butterfly touches. Of course, just at that moment…

…Krory came in the door.

"Ava! I didn't know you'd been hurt- Oh I'm so sorry!" They both froze and Ava looked over Daisya's shoulder only to see Krory covering his eyes while Lavi stared unashamed with both thumbs up. She blushed furiously as Daisya raised an eyebrow confused.

"My cousin." She whispered embarrassed and he rubbed his head sheepishly before he walked up to Krory. He held out his hand and cleared his throat, causing the older man to uncover his eyes and look at it. It took him a moment to register that he was supposed to shake it.

"I'm Daisya Barry. Pleasure to meet you." The nineteen year old boy said politely.

"I-I'm Arystar Krory. The pleasure is all mine." Krory shook his hand in the same polite manner.

"What, not gonna shake my hand?" Lavi complained but Daisya only smirked. "I already know who you are Lavi." Lavi pouted though. "No fair. Polite to Krory-kins but not me!" This caused them all to laugh for a while before Daisya told Ava that he was actually just going to check up on her before he left on a new mission.

"Do you have to go?" She asked. She knew she was selfish when she said that since there were so few Exorcists and so many Akuma but she really wanted him to stay for just a little longer.

"Sorry babe. Wish I didn't, but I'm going to find General Tiedoll with Kanda and Marie. I'll be back as soon as I can though, so don't you worry." He gave her a chaste kiss before he whispered into her ear. "And then it'll be just the two of us, I promise."

"I'll look forward to that. Stay safe" She whispered back and he kissed her one last time before walking out the door.

"Bye, angel!" She waved until he closed the door.

"Didn't know you were together with Daisya." Lavi said as she walked up to the windowsill again and relit her cigarette.

"Now you know." She grinned. "What is that?" Krory suddenly called and pointed at the cigarette.

"What does it look like Arystar?" She raised an eyebrow as she held the cigarette out so he could get a better look at it. "It's something called a cigarette and-"

"I know what it is but I didn't know you smoked!" He whined and she shrugged.

"It calms me down."

"But… but you're smoking!" She sighed as she felt a headache grow and rubbed her temples. "_Yes_, I'm _smoking_. You got a problem with that?" She glared and took another drag before breathing out again.

"Of course we do! It's not very ladylike!" Lavi pointed at her accusingly and she shook her head.

"So, Krory, how did your first mission go?" She asked as she blew out smoke-rings. His mood fell and she noticed this. "What happened?" She asked concerned but he shook his head and said it was nothing before he headed down to the cafeteria, claiming to be famished after his mission.

"What's wrong with him?" She asked as she finished her cigarette and threw it out the window before closing it and taking in the view.

"The town's people had gotten attached to the Akuma there. Because of the Innocence purifying the area, we found out that he had apparently been a good guy." Lavi closed the door and walked up to a chair and sat down.

"So it was only a reminder of what happened back then…" she muttered and he nodded. Lavi sat in silence for a while before he grinned.

"Didn't know you had a tattoo." She blinked and looked down at herself and noticed then that the only thing covering her upper body was the bandages around her chest. She blushed crimson and covered her chest before grabbing her jacket.

"Perv!" She hissed angrily. "You could have said something earlier!" He grinned mischievously.

"And not being able to enjoy the view? Hell no. Besides, I thought you realized, what with Daisya feeling you up in public." She glared at him before huffing and lit another cigarette.

"_Ava, what happened after you found General Yeegar has shortened your lifespan!" _She lifted her hand to rest against the window and then rested her forehead against it too. How much time had she lost? Months? Years? She didn't know. She was sure she would get an accurate answer if she asked Hevlaska but… did she want to know? She closed her eyes as she realized that the answer was no. She was afraid to know, she didn't want to know how much time she had lost because she was afraid. Even if she knew how much time was gone, she wouldn't know how long she would live anyway since no one knew how long their lifespan would be. She hadn't even told Daisya, and she felt bad for it. He deserved to know, he was her boyfriend after all.

"Ava?" She was startled out of her thoughts by Lavi putting a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She replied curtly and he frowned too. "You're lying."

"I'm not!" She glared at him but he glared right back, although his glare was more playful. "You blink your eyes a lot when you lie." She stared at him wide eyed.

"What are you, my stalker?" He grinned. "Maaaaaybe." She huffed and threw her unfinished cigarette out of the window, stalked back to her bed, threw off her jacket and got under the covers before turning her back to him as she lay on her side.

"Sooo, where'd you get that tattoo anyway?" Lavi asked as he lifted the covers and examined it. It seemed to be of a simple tribal design, thin black strokes and thick blades of a huge number that made the image of wings. She promptly slapped his hands away and covered herself.

"What are you doing?" She questioned and he shrugged. "I wanted to get a better look. It's pretty well made after all." She wondered if he was mocking her or actually complimenting the design but the smile on his face didn't indicate any mockery at all so she relaxed and took it as a compliment.

"I got it two years ago. The mission was to exterminate the Akuma in a town and one of the people I happened to save was a tattoo artist. He offered to make a tattoo for me for free so I took him up on the offer." She told him. "He wondered what I wanted and I said to give me wings, so he did. They're completely different than the ones my Innocence look like though."

"Two years ago huh. That's not too long ago." He grinned. "Maybe I should get one too. It looks cool."

"If your master was thinking like that it would make things easier. Hell, General Yeegar scolded me for two whole days after he found out." The mood in the room suddenly went dark at the mention of Yeegar and Lavi searched his brain for something to say but the girl beat him to it.

"Lavi… why didn't you tell me what happened?" He looked up confused. "What do you mean?" She stared at him straight in the eye and he saw that there was no depression, just determination.

"Why didn't you tell me what happened when the Noah fled."

"You mean you don't remember?" He asked rubbing his head while she shook hers.

"You think I would remember raising my hands against you guys?" She muttered as she recalled the recording from Cam. "You think I _want_ to remember that?" Lavi frowned again as she stared at the sheets before he recalled what had happened. It was true now that he thought about it that she had been acting weird, really weird and that it was a high probability that it wasn't really her that had been talking. Also, she could have buried the memories from the trauma.

"Sorry, I thought you remembered."

"Well, obviously I didn't." Her voice was soft and despite her choice of words she didn't sound like she was angry or accusing anyone. "I don't want to remember it either." She pulled up her legs and rested her forehead on her knees again.

"Hey, what's up with that attitude?" He ruffled her hair with a grin. "The Ava I know would show some guts and take control of her life." She looked up at him, mouth agape. They hadn't known each other for long but he already knew that much? Slowly, a genuine smile crept up on her face and Lavi could swear he had never seen anything as beautiful as that.

"Thanks, Lavi. I appreciate it." Then she kicked him out of the room. "Now, leave me the hell alone for my beauty sleep!" He groaned as he lay on the ground.

"Well, you need it!" He called back and the door was almost ripped from its hinges when she opened it with a murderous glare on her face but the boy had already run away.

* * *

><p>TWP: And that was the seventh chapter. Yaaaay. I'm happy that you guys review, I really appreciate it! The button down there will be lonely if you don't click on it! And I bet you didn't see the fact that she had a boyfriend coming, huh? I really love Daisya. He was one of my favorite characters even if he didn't get much time in neither the manga nor the anime.<p>

And before you ask, yes, this is a LavixOC fic.


	8. Chapter 8

TWP: Alright, eight chapter here we go!"

**Disclaimer: I don't own the -Man characters. My only possession is Ava Krory.**

* * *

><p>Three days had passed and Ava had moved back to her own room ready to take up her duties as an Exorcist again. She inspected the wound on her back from that time her wing got ripped off in her body-sized mirror and saw that it had almost finally healed. She smiled to herself.<p>

'_Seems like it won't become a scar.'_ That was a very good thing. She was also lucky that her tattoo hadn't been deformed, though she didn't know how it got away unscathed.

"Heeeey, Ava what's -!" Lavi didn't manage to finish his sentence. Ava screamed and threw her mirror at him. It was a clean hit and he flew out. She slammed the door and hurriedly clothed her upper body.

"T-totally worth it…" Lavi grinned from outside, although the mirror had shattered the moment he and it had landed on the floor and showered him in sharp pieces. It stung a lot but he decided that the view he had had was worth the pain.

'_No pain, no gain.'_ The door slammed open and Ava stormed out, grabbed his collar and hoisted him up.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, storming into a lady's room without knocking?" She shouted while she shook him back and forth.

"I-It would h-have been a lot e-easier to answer i-if you could stop s-shaking me!" He grabbed her arms and she stopped. He shook his head to clear it before he grinned at her. "Well, I was only wondering what you were doing-"

"And so you had to go into my room without knocking?" He laughed.

"Sorry, I forgot." She shook her head with a sigh. Lavi had a photographic memory. He didn't forget, ever, she knew that.

"Why am I surrounded by idiots?" She said dramatically and he scowled. "Hey! I'm not an idiot." He muttered and she stared at the remains of her mirror.

"You owe me a mirror." She stated simply staring at him and he gaped at her in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me! You were the one who threw it at me!" He pointed at his face and clothes, his face had a few cuts and so did his hands while his clothes were a bit torn up here and there.

"If you had knocked I wouldn't have fucking thrown it!" She argued back and the two were locked in a glaring contest. Neither of them backed down until Johnny came around the corner.

"Ava, the Chief wants to inspect your wound and-"The two turned their eyes on him and he froze before he backtracked. "Yeah I'll just tell him I told you to meet up with him." And he was gone again. Ava sighed and grabbed Lavis arm before she dragged him in and made him sit on her bed. She inspected the cuts on his face closely making him a bit uncomfortable before she inspected his hands. She opened her closest and took out bandages, cotton balls, rubbing alcohol, the essentials needed to disinfect and protect injuries before she began to fix him up.

"T-thanks." He stammered and she nodded, concentrated on finishing as soon as possible so she could report in to Komui. Once she had patched him up she stood up and dusted off her pants before walking to the door, holding it open for him. Once out she locked it and began walking to Komui's office.

"Didn't know you were so eager to get your Innocence checked by Komui." Lavi smirked and she froze as dread washed over her. The horrors of having ones Innocence being repaired or healed by Komui was traumatizing, especially if one was a Parasite type. She turned to glare at him but he was already running down the corridor, laughing like there was no tomorrow.

"Sorry, can't let ya beat me up! I've got a mission, you see!" And then he was gone. Ava twitched angrily before her golem suddenly gave her a message.

"_Ava Krory, we need you now!"_ Komui's voice yelled through it and she furrowed her brows in worry. This couldn't simply be because of her wound. She hurried up the stairs and into his office where a lot of the Science Dept. where residing with phones.

"What's going on, Komui?" She asked as she navigated through the mass. He looked up from his papers and the look he gave her told her that this was, indeed, a serious matter.

"Are you able to activate your Innocence without problems?" He asked. Her Innocence activated and her wings sprouted out from her back.

"Affirmative, sir." She said with a nod before deactivating it. "Then you are to leave for Barcelona immediately. General Tiedoll and his unit are close by and a horde of Akuma is on its way there now. The information given to us tells us that we've got four days before they arrive, maybe less. You think you can get there by then?" She nodded immediately, feeling worried for Daisya's safety.

"Yes sir. That should be no problem."

"Good." He nodded satisfied. "If the situation gets worse, we'll send every Exorcist in the vicinity there. If Allen and Lenalee are forced to help out, you'll leave with them after you've eradicated the Akuma. You will then join the mission in guarding General Cross. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal sir." She was a bit disappointed that she couldn't stay with General Tiedolls unit though.

"Dismissed." He said and began yelling orders. She ran out of the office, back to her room and grabbed her luggage, ran up the entire staircase before she reached the roof. There she ran out and at the edge and jumped, gathering speed as she fell before activating her Innocence again and taking off into sunset.

Below on the ground, Lavi and Bookman had noticed her departure and watched as she disappeared into the horizon.

"Hey gramps?" Lavi called as his master grunted. "Don't you think she sometimes look like what humans describes as an angel?" The old man looked at him with one raised eyebrow before he thought about the question.

"That may be. I've heard from the Supervisor that General Yeegar named her Innocence for Angel when he found her. I believe she's tried hard to live up to that name as an Exorcist, but keep in mind Lavi, that her Innocence may not be important for our mission. Keep your mind on the right track." Lavi rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, old panda."

_Whack_

"OW!"

* * *

><p>Two days had passed and Ava was now resting at an inn, completely exhausted. Not having deactivated her Innocence for almost two whole days had been straining on her body and mind.<p>

'_Too tired. But I gotta get to Barcelona fast. I'm almost there; I don't have time to rest.' _She thought to herself but it was the cruel truth that a human body had its limits and she had reached hers. She would be useless in both battle and trying to reach Barcelona if she didn't rest. She would just have to relax and then give it her all when she woke up.

'_Daisya… I hope you're alright.'_ She thought. She had tried to see if she could contact him and his squad through the golems but she had no such luck, which made her think that they were either close to Barcelona or in Barcelona and hopefully, they were alive.

'_He _is_ alive! He's alive and well. He can take care of himself and he's also got Kanda and Marie with him. Surely they have caught up to General Tiedoll now too!'_ And with that last thought she fell asleep and dreamt only of the good times in the Order and of the good times with Daisya.

She sped through the sky, leaving a trail of white feathers after her that immediately turned to green particles that were absorbed by her body again. She paid it no heed though. It had been like this since the battle with the Noah that she didn't remember anything off. But right now that was the last thing on her mind. She could see Barcelona and in the dark night she could see the purple lights created by the bullets the Akuma shot. Suddenly she could see a large amount of them explode in a half circle and she smiled in relief. Daisya as alive! It was his trademark attack pattern.

"Well, can't let them have all the fun!" She grinned to herself and kicked her speed up a notch. She closed in on a group of Akuma that were aiming for a group of wounded Finders. Her arms glowed green as she flew straight through them, leaving them with a few seconds to realize that they were destroyed before they exploded.

"Look! It's an angel!"

"Angel, angel!" The Finders chanted and she waved at them before her golem suddenly transmitted a voice.

"_Did I just see the shadow of an angel pass by the moon?" _She laughed happily and replied coyly. It felt good hearing his voice again, to know he was safe.

"Maybe you did."

"_Would you please keep your lovey-dovey stuff until _after_ we've finished dealing with these Akuma?"_ Kanda's annoyed voice could be heard and she laughed again as Daisya told him to keep his jealous mouth shut.

"_I'm not jealous!_" The swordsman retorted stubbornly and Daisya laughed out loud.

"_Just focus on destroying the Akuma."_ Maries voice echoed and there was several large explosions down the streets.

"_Yeah, yeah. Whatever."_ Daisya replied and the link was cut. The battle raged on for several hours and Ava felt herself tire. Her back hurt and was stiff from overuse of her wings. She had never been fighting for so long before and felt the need to land. But where was it safe to land? Just then an Akuma tried to shoot her from behind but she dodged it easily and cut it down.

"_That was a bit too close, Ava."_ She heard Daisya's voice through Cam.

"You're watchin' me?" She replied incredulously. Surely he had enough trouble by himself since the three on the ground had been scattered some time ago.

"_Hard not to, you're a giant black spot in the air."_ Kanda butt into their conversation.

"_A_ beautiful_ giant black spot." _Daisya corrected him and she giggled with a blush.

"To think you two can still joke around in the situation we're in." She shook her head as Daisya laughed and Kanda snorted. "Any safe place to land?" She asked as she scanned the streets but it was hard to be sure what was safe.

"_My place!"_ Daisya immediately replied. "Without any perverts?" She clarified her question and she could swear she heard him pout.

"_Hey!"_

"_Marie's location. 5 kilometers west of the tower. We'll meet up there."_ Kanda told her.

"Roger that."

"_See you la… ba…" _

"Daisya?" She frowned in worry but he reassured her that it was only his golem that was acting up. He would meet up with them at Marie's location. She descended down to the streets and landed, retracting her wings as she kept an eye out for Marie. But still, she felt that something was wrong. She had a really bad feeling about this place. She just hoped that it was only her imagination and that when morning came; they would all be safe and sound.

* * *

><p>TWP: There ya go. Eight chapters are over and done with. God, my neck hurts… Oh well, totally worth it! Sorry for the short chapter though. Once I get a few reviews I'll update again, thank you in advance.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

TWP: I want to thank all of you who have written reviews to my story. Really, thank you!

**Disclaimer: I only own Ava Krory, the idea of Ava Krory, the idea of her being in a relationship with Daisya, but I don't own the -Man characters…**

* * *

><p>"Daisya? Can you hear me?" Ava called out into her golem but the only reply she got was a foreign voice.<p>

"_I'm goi.. to enjoy kill…you!" _

"_Dam… it!" _She froze. She knew that voice. She had heard it before. In her nightmares. Cam had recorded that voice and it only brought back fear and anguish.

"No… no it can't be!" She whimpered and took a few steps back. Marie noticed her distress and asked what was wrong. With a shaky voice she replied with only one word.

"Noah…" If Marie wasn't blind, his eyes would have widened. "You hear that Kanda? We've got a Noah!"

"_I heard! You know his location?"_

"Negative, but we'll – wait, Ava!" Marie called but the girl had already taken off, jumping up on the rooftops to get a better view. This way she wouldn't have the risk of meeting any dead ends either.

"_Stupid girl is going to get herself killed!" _Kanda growled through the connection. She ran and ran, her feet barely keeping her up because of fear. Fear of losing Daisya like she had lost General Yeegar. She couldn't stand the thought. Unlike the other Generals, Yeegar had only had her as an apprentice, the others had died long before he had taken her in and she had to deal with the loss of the General relatively alone. She wouldn't be able to take such a loss again in such a short time. Her back strained when she tried to activate her wings and hurt like hell. It almost felt like it was being torn apart but she didn't give up. She forced them out and took off into the air, determined to get there in time, fear pushing her to her limits.

* * *

><p>"<em>Stupid girl is going to get herself killed!" <em>Both Tyki and Daisya heard Kandas voice and Daisya realized with horror that Ava was in danger or would be if he didn't hurry up.

"That female voice… it seems familiar." Tyki cupped his chin with his left hand, as if in deep thought, his hat now properly in place and not tilting to the side. Daisyas eyes narrowed.

"You know Ava?" He questioned angrily and Tyki snapped his fingers with a triumphant look on his face.

"Ava! That's the girl who made a lot of trouble for us when we tried to collect the Innocence that General Yeegar guy was carrying." The brown-haired Exorcist looked confused and Tyki noticed this.

"What? You haven't heard? I thought the Order would gloat about the fact that one lone Exorcist could hold two Noah back even though she transformed into a mindless killing machine?" Apparently Daisya didn't know this, Tyki realized, when his expression went from confusion to shock.

"Aaah, you didn't know. Tell me, what is she to you? A friend, a sibling? Lover maybe?" Daisya tensed. "Bulls eye!" Tyki clapped his hands in triumph, happy for being able to deduce so much already from only a few hints before he let his hands fall to his sides and bowed his head forward.

"If only you hadn't attacked me…" His voice seemed almost apologetic. "Then you would have been able to live with your girlfriend a little longer." He looked up and a crazed grin had taken over his handsome features. "When she gets here, I'll show her your corpse before I kill her too!"

"Like hell you will! I'll kill you first!" Daisya hollered and activated his Innocence, Charity Bell, and kicked it towards him but Tyki managed to dodge it.

"Oooh, how scary!" Tyki said with mock fear as it returned to Daisya.

"If you liked that, then you're really gonna get a kick out of this!" He kicked the Charity Bell again and this time it disappeared inside a window. A second passed before the windows shattered by a faint bell sound.

"Sound waves, huh." Tyki noted but wondered why Daisya was smirking. His Innocence hadn't returned after all. He was wide open. He got his answer when an explosion occurred on his left and the fire consumed him. Daisya relaxed his body with a smirk. The Noah was dead.

"I guess that's the end of that." But he had celebrated too soon. Tyki was unharmed and faster than the eye could see and the human body could react; he appeared in front of Daisya. "H-how did you-?"

"You're referring to your end, right?"

* * *

><p>Her blood turned cold when she heard it. A pained scream. And it was Daisyas voice.<p>

"No, no no!" She yelled. _'Faster, faster, FASTER!'_ she thought and without her being aware of it, her wings changed shape, the shape of the fairy wings she had when fighting the Noah. Her speed kicked up and she headed towards the direction she had heard the scream. She hadn't been far off, why hadn't she been able to find him earlier? It wasn't that hard to locate his Innocence that used sonic resonance.

"Daisya!"

Tyki looked up from his handiwork and saw Ava fall down towards them and land on the ground at the same time as the Charity bell fell. She watched in horror as the bell itself shattered and the Innocence turned to dust before she looked up to see Daisya crucified upside down.

"Now, what's with that expression?" Tyki walked up to her and lifted her chin. She couldn't look away from Daisya because of the shock and didn't even register the Noah touching her. "Don't you think it was a nice finishing touch?"

"Don't you… fucking touch her, bastard!" Daisya yelled and she snapped back to reality. He was still alive. Tyki leaped up into the air as she hit after him with glowing fists.

"Kanda, Marie! I request assistance! I'm engaging the Noah! The location is 1 km east of the tower!" She called to her golem.

"_Idiot, you're going to get yourself killed!"_ Kanda called and she could hear Marie agreeing with him.

"Ava, get the hell out of here! He attacked only because I did! Get out and don't give him a reason to attack you too!" Daisya called and she yelled back.

"I'm not leaving you behind!"

"You don't really have much of a choice if ya wanna live!"

"THEN I DON'T WANNA LIVE!" She screamed and Tyki watched their exchange half in amusement half in pity. The Noah in him found it amusing; the human side pitied them for meeting him.

"You know, I can easily rectify that." Tyki pointed out and they both turned to him.

"SHUT UP!" They yelled and he felt his hat slide a bit to the side from the force of their yell. He was stunned. One would think that they would be a bit more serious in such a situation. He sighed and called for their attention again.

"You're not going to go 'mindless' on me again, are you?" The question was directed at Ava who stiffened when she heard it. "That General seemed like he was important to you, and I know this guy is and you've already turned halfway into that fairy-form or whatever you call it, so please, I would have liked it if you left now because you were more trouble than you're worth." She bit her lip as she glanced over her shoulder to see that he was right. If Daisya was killed, would she lose herself like she did that time? Or could she go crazy before that happened and kill him herself? She shook her head, throwing away the images immediately.

"Like I'm going to leave you here alone with him!" She growled viciously, reaching a decision and Tyki sighed again, taking off his hat and putting it on the ground. Then he charged.

"Guess I'll have to take care of you first then." He was surprised though when he received a swift kick to the chin. He fell back but managed to stay on his feet. Apparently he had a stunned look because she smirked.

"Surprised?" He shook his head with a smile before charging again. This time he dodged a punch only to be hit by her elbow when she turned completely around.

"What's with your body?" He asked when this had gone on for some time, he was tired of not being able to slip through her body and she glared at him darkly. "That's quite a rude question to ask a lady." She retorted and he blinked before chuckling.

"Right you are. It is rude, but I would like to think that this situation does not require formal courtesy."

"Right you are." She mimicked him causing him to twitch in annoyance. This woman was really childish. Why couldn't she show some fear instead?

"So, you're not going to answer my question?" She pulled on the skin under her eye and stuck out her tongue and he blinked again, stunned at how childish she was acting while facing death.

'_Well, if I can get a hold on her innards it would have made this a whole lot easier.' _He thought to himself and tried again only to realize it was futile. She had almost perfect control of her body movements, just like Yeegar. The only difference between her and the old General was that she wasn't as tired as he had been and that made it harder for Tyki to catch her. The girl had a lot of stamina. She never gave him an opportunity and it agitated him. He was already late for his meeting with the Earl, something he was sure he would never hear the end of. Something sharp passed by his face and he recoiled, putting some distance between them before putting a hand to his cheek. He looked at his white glove that was now tainted with blood.

"You cut me?" The question contained shock and disbelief and she smirked. He took a look at her arms and saw with surprise that both of her arms glowed now, and not just her fists. He frowned before chuckling.

"I don't understand why it's you who's looking high and mighty when it's you who's got blood dripping from her mouth." Her eyes widened as her hand shot to her mouth. He was right. She could taste the metallic taste of blood in her mouth now that she thought about it. She was about to retort but pain suddenly coursed through her entire body and her Innocence deactivated as she collapsed on the ground.

'_Shit, what's going on?'_ She thought as she clenched her eyes, trying to keep herself from whimpering. It was unbearable. It was like _that_ time, all those years ago.

"Ava!" Daisya who had kept still because he was too weak to break through the chains began trashing. "Ava!"

"Seems like she's lost her strength." Tyki dusted himself off and turned leeringly towards Daisya who growled in warning. "Like I promised, she'll watch you die before I kill her."

"No… don't, please. He's one of the… one of the few …." She whimpered and crawled to her hands and feet, it was almost as if she bowed to him, and the very thought was ridiculous. She was an Exorcist, and they didn't bow to Noah. He glanced over his shoulder at her. "No can do, missy." He turned back to Daisya and floated up to eye-level with him.

"Any last requests?" Daisya nodded slowly.

"Two actually, if you would let me." Tyki nodded and let him speak. "The first is for Ava!" He snapped and Tyki sighed before moving so he would be able to see the girl clearly.

"Hey, Ava." He called and she looked up to stare at him and he stared back with a gentle smile. Tears flooded down her cheeks, knowing that she was powerless to stop Tyki and powerless to save neither herself nor Daisya.

"Don't blame yourself, alright? And even if I die you shouldn't follow." He breathed in deeply like what would come next would hurt him. "And… just because I die… you shouldn't keep it all to yourself and stay alone. You deserve better than that… I want you to, when you feel that the time is right, to move on, to find someone who can be by your side, since it's obvious I won't be able to be there anymore so-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" She screamed and lowered her head. "Don't say it…" She repeated in a broken whisper. Daisya laughed weakly.

"Ain't much else I can say, ya know. Just do me that favor, okay? Don't force yourself to be alone."

"You're so… so selfish!" She said as she sat up, wanting to see his eyes. He smiled gently. "I know." He turned to Tyki. "Can I trust you to heed my last request?" He glared at the Noah, not fully sure if he would listen to him.

"Of course. I asked if you had any. Sort of gives me the responsibility to heed it." The man shrugged.

"Let her live." Tyki's eyes widened. "Say what?"

"Let her live… she's got people waiting for her. Hell, I don't know why I'm tellin' you this, but let her live." Tyki was reminded by those who were waiting for him at the mine. The friends he had grown up with. The ones who only knew of his white side. He knew he had to be careful so he wouldn't lose them. He nodded.

"Alright, fair enough. That's all?" Daisya nodded and prepared himself as Tyki put a Tease just above the Rose Cross.

"_Daisya! Ava! You guys still there?" _Kanda called and Cam fluttered around Ava.

"Kanda… Daisya… you've gotta stop Daisya…" She whispered.

"_The hell is going on? Ava, answer me!" _Kanda noticed the pain and fright in her voice and grew more worried than before.

"It seems like your friends will be here soon." Tyki noted as he heard the transmission. "Too bad for you that they didn't get here sooner."

'_Move… goddammit move! Just once more, I don't care what happens, just move one more time!'_

"I regret nothing." Daisya smirked but gasped in pain as the Tease entered his body. He gave one last chuckle before his eyes closed. Ava's though, only widened in horror.

"NOOOO!" She threw her head back and screamed her heart out, letting the whole city hear her anguish. Tyki glanced at her before picking up his hat and walking away. He respected Daisyas last wish before he disappeared. The sun rose over the town and lit it up. Kanda and Marie found Ava kneeling in front of Daisyas corpse; her head hung low in defeat as she cradled the broken pieces of the Charity Bell. The two walked up and cut him down before placing him on the ground in front of her. Marie put his hands on her shoulders while Kanda stood behind them and stared silently.

"He left me behind…" She said after some time. "Daisya died and the Noah left me behind."

"Damn Noah!" Even though Kanda went around as being someone who cared about no one but himself the tone of his voice suggested that he was as hurt as they were that Daisya had died. They had been training under the same General together. They had in a way grown up together.

"He died and left me behind!" She sobbed and clutched the broken pieces to her chest. If only she had met up with him and not Marie then he would still be alive. He could still have been alive if she hadn't been such a fool!

"I'm sorry, Ava." Marie comforted her and rubbed her back. Shadows appeared behind them and the leader of the Finders voice could be heard.

"We received orders to transport the body back to the Order along with the wounded Finders."

"And the Akuma?" There was a slight edge to Kanda's voice.

"There's no one left in the city. They fled to the South."

"The General may be there. We have to go." Marie said to Kanda who nodded.

"There's only one thing we can do." The two stood still for another few moments and stared at Daisya's body while longer before they both gave a slight nod. "Look after Daisya." Kanda ordered the Finders and he and Marie left but not before giving her shoulder a squeeze. Even Kanda did it. She turned her head to them and nodded with a grateful smile.

"Finders… Do you know if Allen Walker and Lenalee Lee are on their way here?" She asked and the leader said yes. "They're bound to be here soon." He said and he and another Finder went up to Daisyas body and grabbed the sheet he was lying on but she stopped them.

"Wait! I… I want to be alone for a while, please. When Allen and Lenalee arrive, bring them here." The Finders looked at each other before nodding and she gave them the broken pieces of the Charity Bell.

"Thank you." She whispered as they left. She stared at Daisya. Even though he had died he looked so peaceful. It looked like he was asleep, not gone forever. She really wished that this was a dream, that she was sleeping and when she woke up she would find him grinning down at her, calling her a sleepy head like he used to. She smiled bitterly as she crawled closer.

"You're not going to wake up again are you?" What was the use of such questions? Of course he wouldn't. He was killed, right in front of her. And she couldn't do a _damned thing!_

"I would really like it if you did." She continued. "I wouldn't even be angry if you jumped up and said; fooled you, you know." She put her hand to his cheek and rubbed it softly, already feeling him going cold. She remembered how warm he used to be. She never felt cold when he was holding her close to himself. She remembered how his smile made her melt on the inside or how it felt like his eyes would always gaze into her very soul. Thinking about these things made it more painful when his cold skin snapped her back to reality.

'_You're so selfish, telling me to move on… telling me not to blame myself when it couldn't have been any other's fault.'_ She heard footsteps behind her and then she heard someone gasp.

"Oh my god, Daisya!" It was Lenalee's hushed whisper that rang in her ears. She didn't turn around to greet them. She took off Daisya's hood and moved his bandages so his hair fell out. She let her hand run through his locks before she took out his earring. She changed her own ear accessory with it before she gave him a kiss on his forehead. The Finders that had guided the two went up to her and the boys grabbed the sheet and lifted it up, taking him down to the harbor, where a lot of white coffins were put in a line.

"Oh no." Tears gathered in Lenalees eyes as she saw all the coffins. They then met a Finder that had been a part of Devon's group, a group of Finders they had met before coming here. Ava passed right by them and followed Daisya up to his black coffin at the very end of the harbor. Once he was put inside the Finders were about to cover it but she stopped them.

"Wait." Her hollow voice barely reached their ears. She kneeled by it and let her hand glide over his cheek one last time, over his markings one last time and then, she gave him one last kiss on the lips.

"Goodbye, Daisya." She whispered and they covered it. They then gave her a nod as a sign of their condolences and brought his coffin on the ship. Soon every last coffin, both white and black were on it.

"Kanda and Marie are going to escort them back, if General Tiedoll follows that is. Don't worry. Daisya will get home without trouble." She said once again when Lenalee and Allen looked at her with worried expression, though she knew very well that the expressions were meant for her mental health and not his corpse. Once the coffins were all aboard the three Exorcists went back into town. Lenalee and Allen did this for Ava's sake. Right now, the last thing she needed was people giving her condolences. She needed silence, and that's what she was going to get.

The day went by slowly and when nighttime finally arrived, the three Exorcists where sitting in the ruined part of the town. Suddenly footsteps could be heard. They all looked up and saw General Tiedoll with his squad.

"Come, let's go to the harbor." Mutely, Ava nodded and got up. Allen and Lenalee glanced at each other before nodding and getting up too. Once at the harbor the General sat down on the stairs and after the others did too there was a moment of silence for the fallen.

"General, the Order needs you. Will you be returning back to HQ?" Allen asked.

"I will aid the Order yes, but I will do it my way. My job is to gather Innocence and find accommodators." He glanced at Ava who stared at the ocean. Just a few hours ago the ship with Daisya's body had still been docked here.

"I'm sorry, Ava. I may sound selfish to you right now but-"

"No… thanks, General. I'm happy with what you're doing." She smiled to him, shocking everyone. "If you had given up now and went back to the Order just to hide, I would have been upset because… If you had gone back to hide, then Daisya's death would have been for nothing. He risked his life to find you, like everyone else who's looking for the Generals. That you decided to finish your mission first makes me happy. You grieve for Daisya, I can see that but… for the sake of everyone who's died you won't give up." The General smiled and nodded.

"You will fight in their memory. You've opened my eyes. I've used the whole day thinking about only myself and how unfair it is but I'm not alone in this world. I'm not the center of it. I should have realized that sooner." He put an arm around her shoulder rubbed her arms.

"It is alright to grieve. He was someone dear to you. We in the Order usually don't have anyone but the members to lean on. You've lost someone close to your heart two times in less than a month."

"Yeah, I know. But still, I should have collected myself sooner. I have a job to do. I also have to fight for those who have fallen and those who are still alive." She declared and the General had to remove his glasses and wipe his eyes.

"If I may ask, what were Daisya's final words to you? His golem didn't pick it up." A blatant lie, but Ava didn't know that. His golem had been acting up so she believed him.

"That I shouldn't blame myself. That I shouldn't keep it all bottled up until I burst. He also said that I should find someone to stay by my side since he couldn't do it anymore. He didn't want me to stay alone for the remainder of my life." He nodded.

"Aah, that Daisya. Always acting so tough but he really had a kind, gentle heart." Ava nodded. "Yeah, he had."

* * *

><p>Ava held the phone to her ear as she explained it to Komui. She explained how Daisya had fallen in battle.<p>

"The Noah did something to him. Although there was no wound… Daisya died. There was no heartbeat and no pulse." She said in a monotone voice.

"_We know. We saw through his golem what happened. Are you alright?" _

"I'm fine. I invoked my Innocence for too long without rest and my body couldn't take it, that's why it backfired. I'm healed now though." She replied but that wasn't enough for Komui at that moment.

"_I meant; how are you holding up? I know Daisya was close to you after all." _

"I'm fine. Death comes with the job." She replied immediately and Komui found this very disturbing. Clearly, she was not as fine as she claimed to be. She needed a break and he knew it.

"_If you want to, you can come back and attend his funeral-"_he began but she cut him off.

"Really Komui, I'm fine. Daisya died for a good cause, so did Yeegar. Besides, I've got Allen and Lenalee here to cheer me up and keep my mind off it. Also, General Tiedoll helped me remember that we're not alone in this world. We're not the only ones who suffer and that it's us Exorcists that have the responsibility to keep innocent people safe. That's what Daisya fought for, and that's also what I'm fighting for." She said calmly. "You worry too much, Supervisor. I'm pretty sure that you have your hands full already." At this the Supervisor sighed and banged his head on his desk.

"_You don't even know half of it."_ He mumbled. "_The Finders are enraged that I can't let them take their comrades remains back to their hometowns."_

"It can't be helped. If they do, it's a big chance that they will be turned into Akuma. They'll see reason, Komui, relax. If they don't, just tell 'em I'll beat the shit out of 'em until they do. And before you ask, no, I'm not in any way in such a depressed state that I would bring back Yeegar or Daisya." She said and he paused. "Humans are mortal. When they die, they should stay dead until they are reincarnated _naturally._" She said, putting emphasis on the last word. He smiled on the other side.

"_Alright. Then, I'll leave you to your mission-"_

"Just one thing, Komui." She interrupted before he could hang up. "I ask as Daisya's lover now, not as a fellow Exorcist… W-what was the cause for his death?" Komui hesitated, not really sure if he should tell her but concluded that she had a right to know. She had been his lover after all, and they had known each other through all the years they had spent in the Order. She had also witnessed his death first hand. She had also witnessed Yeegars death. She had seen the two Noah, she knew their appearance and she could be the next for all he knew.

"_A vital organ was removed." _He replied slowly. "Which organ?" She asked and waited in expectation.

"Komui!"

"_It was… his heart. There was no trace of it left."_ Ava nodded to herself. It made sense. The Noah had put that Tease thing over his heart after all. It was no surprise that it was the heart that was missing.

"Thank you, Komui. Could you do me another favor? Don't bury his ashes. Throw the ashes out from the highest point of the tower. He told me once that that's what he wanted…"

"_We'll cremate him, but I'll leave it to you to throw his ashes. Stay safe, all of you, and find General Cross before it's too late." _

"Wilco. Krory out."

"_That's not really funny, Ava._" Komui said but still she could hear him laugh on the other side. She shook her head with a small smile and hung up, disconnecting her golem. Then she contacted Allen and Lenalee.

"Where are you guys?" She asked. She had told them to go ahead of them while she gave Komui the report, although they had been very reluctant.

"_We're up on a mountain path, east of the town." _Lenalee responded cheerily with a hint of a laugh.

"_It's not funny!" _Shea heard Allen in the background. Ava, being very curious by nature, wondered what was going on. "_Allen fell, and it looked so funny!"_ Lenalee laughed freely now.

"What a klutz." Ava laughed herself. "I'll be there soon." Usually Ava would just use her wings to catch up but this time she decided to walk. She needed to think after all. She was determined to remember Daisya as she had known him, yet she would not dwell on the past too much. She would treasure his memory, that was all there was to it. Getting a cigarette out of her pocket she grabbed her lighter and lit it. Taking a long drag before exhaling, she smiled.

* * *

><p>TWP: Î think I've never cried so hard when watching an anime, not since Haku and Zabusa died in Naruto… DAISYA, WHY THE "#¤%&u"=! DID YOU HAVE TO DIE?

To all viewers, we're censoring TWP's extreme language. Sincerely, 4KIDS.

TWP: 4KIDS YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH DGM YOU *_beep beep beep* _


	10. Chapter 10

TWP: When I wrote chapter ten here, I thought; why the hell do I turn her into a crybaby all of a sudden? But hey, she just lost her boyfriend so I guess it should be alright. But she's slowly going back to normal!

**Disclaimer: I only own Ava Krory. That's it. And her childhood… and the concept of her meeting ANY of the characters from -Man… but not -Man, dammit!**

* * *

><p>"This is dangerous. For how long has<p>

she been like this Yeegar?" A voice she had never heard before was talking to the man who had taken her in. She opened her eyes and saw a brown-haired man with glasses and moustache stare at her master while pointing at her.

"I found her three days ago. According to her, she's been like this for five." Yeegar said calmly even though it looked like he was ready to tear his hair out. "No matter what I say she won't deactivate her Innocence! Tiedoll, what should I do?"

"You've got to stop her. She'll die!"

"No! I-I won't do it…" She said and pulled herself up on all four, the wings on her back a heavy burden on her thin arms and legs. "You're awake!" Yeegar exclaimed surprised and somehow he sounded relieved too.

"I won't… do it. I can't do it." Her whimpering gave away her pain and the man with glasses, Tiedoll, shook his head in disbelief. "This is way too dangerous. You're straining your body. You could die!"

"This pain is nothing… compared to how they felt… when I tore them apart." She hissed and felt her arms and legs start to give out on her. "This pain is nothing!" Just then a young boy with brown hair and purple marks on his face, clad in a black uniform, popped his face into the carriage.

"Hey, old man! You finished yet?" Her eyes widened and he felt eyes on himself. He turned slightly and saw her, his own eyes widening when he saw the wings on her back. "Is that an angel?" He asked and she glanced back at the bed she was resting on.

"I'm no… angel." The word sounded foreign to her, especially now after the ordeal she had gone through not long ago. "Angels don't… soak their hands in blood." Suddenly his face was up close to hers.

"You sure look like an angel to me, what, with those long strands of white hair and wings." Tears ran down her cheeks as he said that and he jumped back. "Ah, sorry! Did I say something wrong?" He exclaimed alarmed but then she began giggling.

"No… you didn't say anything wrong." She smiled and the wings began to retract into her body. Once they were gone she fainted from exhaustion.

"Oy, oy! Is she alright?" The boy called but then she heard Yeegars relieved voice. "She'll be alright. She's just exhausted."

* * *

><p>"Hey, old man!" Tiedoll looked up from his sketch and saw the brown haired boy walk up to him.<p>

"Yes, Daisya?"

"What is that girl? Is she an angel?" Daisya asked as he plopped down beside his master who chuckled at his innocent question. "Hey, what are you laughing at?" Daisya exclaimed in annoyance.

"Nothing, I'm sorry." The General apologized, still with a smile on his face. "No, the girl is not an angel. Did she look like that to you?" The boy nodded.

"She was pretty, and she had wings." He mused and the General stared at him. "What?" He grew uncomfortable under his stare.

"Daisya, do you find the girl cute?" Tiedoll asked innocently and the boy blushed. "I do not!" He denied the statement vehemently and the General laughed. "You do find her cute!"

"I do _not_!" Daisya exclaimed again, looking around to be sure they were alone. "Don't yell things out like that! Someone will get the wrong idea!" This only caused the General to laugh harder.

"You said she wasn't an angel! What is she then?" The General instantly calmed down and went back to his sketch.

"She is an Exorcist, just like us."

"Eh? That girl is?"

"Yes. What you saw last night as her wings is actually her Innocence, her Anti-Akuma weapon."

"But, it came out of her body! Can Innocence do that?"

"That's because she's a Parasite type." The General explained. "Parasite types are people born with Innocence in their bodies or having merged with the Innocence later on in their life. Long story short, it's part of their bodies. The Akuma are especially aware of them and target them before they learn how to use their powers."

"Is that what happened to her?" Daisya asked. "She was crying and said she was soaked in blood."

"I don't know." Tiedoll answered honestly. "She isn't my apprentice therefore I didn't find it necessary to probe into her personal life."

"Tch, stupid old man."

"Ask her yourself if you're so curious." Tiedoll laughed when Daisya turned his head the other way and "keh'd".

"Must be pretty nice to have wings though." Daisya mused. "I'm sure it's fun to fly."

"Make no mistake now, Daisya, being a Parasite type is no blessing." At this the boy looked at him quizzically. "You should be happy that you're an Equipment type because Parasite types have a shorter lifespan than normal humans. The reason for that is that the Innocence leaves a huge strain on the body and in the end, if a Parasite type doesn't die in a battle against Akuma, they will die from the strain the Innocence leaves. Some die young but there are some lucky people that die at an old age too. I wonder, will that girl be lucky or unlucky?" Tiedoll mused. He was by no means jealous of the Parasite types. Their power was basically a death sentence not only to the Akuma but also themselves.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Ava!" Said sixteen year old girl looked up and saw Daisya walk over to her table in the cafeteria. She was sitting alone now. Usually she would have mingled with the Finders but she had gotten up late as usual, and was eating her breakfast in silence, and he noted with a sweatdrop that as usual, she had a shitload of food stacked on her table.<p>

"Hey, Daisya! How's it going?" She replied just as cheerily.

"It's all good. I see you're still sleeping through the day when you've got nothing to do? Miss. Sleepyhead." He laughed as she blushed slightly in embarrassment.

"Not my fault I'm a Parasite type. I need all the rest I can get!" She pouted and crossed her arms. He found it incredibly cute.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say." He grinned and she huffed before going back to her food.

"Soooo, was there something you wanted?" Daisya opened his mouth but paused when he found that her expression right then was adorable. How her head was turned downwards but her eyes looked up making them look bigger than they actually were, and that she wasn't wearing her jacket over her top like usual didn't help his hormones either. So he settled for leaning back and let his hood cover most of his face as to hide his blush.

"N-not really."

"You sure?" She asked and peered at him, trying to look under the hood and he turned away. "Yeah, I'm sure." He answered quickly and she frowned in worry.

"Is something wrong?" She asked but he shook his head. "I just wanted to see you. You've been gone for two months already!" He claimed and crossed his arms. She giggled and he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. The sight that met him was the most beautiful thing he had seen in his whole life.

"Thanks, Daisya." She smiled brightly, her amber eyes dancing with mirth and happiness. He smirked.

"You're welcome."

"Hey, Kanda!" She suddenly called and Daisya glanced over his shoulder, grinning when he saw the blue-haired Exorcist holding a tray with soba. "Come, sit over here!" She motioned for him to come over. The boy didn't seem overly thrilled with the idea, he wasn't much of a socialist, but still he found himself sitting with the two. Only because Daisya was a teammate he actually could stand and because Ava knew when to shut up and when to talk. That, and she made a decent opponent in their spars.

"So, I've heard that Lenalee's coming back soon. Apparently the mission was a big success." Ava said after swallowing. The other two nodded.

"Yeah, the girl is doing well. I guess it's all for the Supervisor." Daisya grinned.

"Oh, the love between siblings." Ava and Daisya snickered. "It's beautiful, yet at the very same time, it's damn harsh." Ava thought about her own relationship with her family and began to think about her grandfather and cousin. She knew he was old, probably dead but she hadn't picked up any news about it. Her cousin she knew was doing well. He loved his home and took good care of the flowers.

'_Damn I miss those flowers.' _She thought as she slowed down on her eating. It was thanks to them that she had awesome reflexes. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she registered that Daisya was waving a hand in front of her face.

"Sorry, did you say something?" Daisya shook his head but stared at her worriedly. "You just zoned out."

"Ah, I was just thinking about Mr. Sister-complex." She lied with a shrug.

"Damn idiot who doesn't do his job properly." Kanda muttered beside them.

"Aw, don't tell me you're jealous, Kanda?" Ava teased and he glared at her.

"Why the hell should I be jealous?"

"You're right. You don't have to be, since you have General Tiedoll, Marie and Daisya as big brothers and daddy." His eye twitched, and she noticed it, smirking as her boredom started to disappear.

"Krory…" He growled warningly and Daisya moved away slightly as he saw the death glare Kanda gave Ava who took it as a challenge. "Or what do you say? Yuu-kun?" She imitated the General when she uttered his name and he drew Mugen.

"Die."

"Bring it on." Ava had activated her own Innocence, her arms glowing faintly, still with that confident smirk on her face before both were hit on the head with a frying pan.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

"OW, FUCK! JERRY!" Ava glared but both she and Kanda shrank back a bit by the glare Jerry threw them.

"_No _fighting in _my_ cafeteria. The last time you did, you left it in ruins!" He scolded them. "Go spar somewhere else!" The two teens glanced at each other before nodding.

"Training area, Ava, now."

"It'll be a fucking pleasure to hand your ass to you, Kanda." Kanda smirked at the challenge as Daisya only laughed at their antics. This was why he tolerated Ava. She actually didn't back out even if it was him.

* * *

><p>"Daisya?" He looked up from his book in the dark corner of the library and stared at the girl in front of him. She was wringing her hands and her eyes were red and puffy. Had she been crying?<p>

"What's wrong?" He sat up and put away his book. She looked torn, like she was regretting coming here. Changing her mind she said it was nothing and turned around but she had piqued his interest and they had known each other for two years already. He could pretty much read her like a book now. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Hey, what's wrong? Have you been crying?"

"Um, no I haven't, I just got something in my eyes." Her eyes blinked rapidly as she said this and he sighed. "You're lying." She stared at him.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes you are. You blink your eyes a lot when you lie." She gaped at him.

"What are you? My stalker?" He snorted. "Hardly. Now, tell me what's wrong." He demanded but she pulled her hand back after a moment's thought.

"No, it's alright. It wasn't anything important." She smiled at him as usual but this smile wasn't pretty in his eyes, not when it was so fake. "So I'll see you later. You should probably go to bed too, it's already 2. am. Good night." She waved and walked past him but he grabbed her arm and hauled her back, causing her to lose her balance and fall backwards, her back coming into contact with his chest. She looked up and saw him glare down at her.

"Tell me." He simply demanded and she looked down, biting her lip. Suddenly his fingers came and gently pried her lip out from her teeth.

"Don't do that." He murmured and she blushed under his heavy stare.

"Um… I-I…" She began and he leaned down to hear her better. Of course this caused the flustered girl to become even quieter. "I-I had a… nightmare." She finished and blushed in embarrassment as he blinked. He straightened up.

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean, is that all?" She glared.

"It was horrible. People were dying and…" She paused and turned her glare to the floor as angry tears gathered in her eyes. "Forget it, it was stupid." She muttered and turned around again, fully intending on returning to her room but Daisya stopped her again by wounding his arms around her waist.

"Hey, sorry. I didn't mean it like that." She tensed but after a few moments she relaxed.

"You're warm." She murmured and put her hands over his. "You too." He muttered back.

"Daisya?"

"Hm?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" He nodded.

"Sure."

* * *

><p>"Happy seventeenth b-day, girl!" Ava looked up just in time to catch a small package thrown at her. She stared at it confused before she found the source. Daisya.<p>

"Thanks Daisya." She called back and opened it. She gasped. Inside was a beautiful silver, heart shaped locket and a note.

_Since I didn't give you anything last year  
>you're getting a good one now. <em>

_Put a picture or two of your loved  
>ones in here and keep it with you always<br>to remember what you're fighting for.  
>I know that sometimes it's hard to<br>think positive thoughts but this locket should help you out._

Daisya.

She immediately went to her room, opened a drawer and found a tiny picture of her brothers, Krory and her when they were kids. She carefully placed it in the locket and put it on. It was a really beautiful locket. She wondered how he had managed to scrape together money for it but she decided not to worry. He had given her a great gift and she was going to treasure it.

"Cam, come on!" Her golem reacted and came to life where she/it had been lying motionless on the desk. "I need you for just a little bit." She grinned and ran out the door. Once she was back in her room again she opened her locket and stared fondly at the two pictures she had. The first was of her, Krory and her brothers; the second was of her and Daisya. She had found him in the library again and hugged him before turning to Cam who recorded them. The moment that was over she had hurried to the Science Dept. and made them print it out. Now she would have him with her forever. The very thought made her blush.

* * *

><p>"Hey." Daisya looked up from his book and saw Ava, and had a hard time keeping his eyes off of her. That she was in the library at 3. Am in the morning with him wasn't the issue though. The issue was that she was wearing <em>nothing<em> but a very big t-shirt that reached her mid-thigh. And the shirt was _almost _see-through. He gulped.

"Hey." He replied weakly, feeling the need to run away and find a cold shower, _fast_. He put his book in his lap. "What are you doing up so late?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I couldn't sleep." She replied simply.

"I-I see you're wearing the locket." God, he was desperate now. How the hell would he get out of this one without embarrassing himself or complicate their friendship? She lifted it up with a smile.

"Yeah. Thanks, really. It was a beautiful gift." She walked over to him and sat down on the table.

'_Kill me now, kill me now, kill-me-now!'_ he thought as he couldn't stop himself from eyeing her.

"Hey, Daisya-"

"Yes?" He squeaked and hurriedly covered his mouth, blushing slightly in embarrassment. He did not just _squeak!_ She blinked before giggling and he saw that she too, was blushing.

"You don't have to be so nervous. I'm the one who should be nervous." She scratched her cheek with her pointy finger and gave him a nervous smile. He couldn't resist. She was simply too cute, too beautiful, too nice, so shy that it was adorable and at that moment, too sexy, he would have to go for the option of complicating things. He stood up and grabbed her cheek, kissing her deeply. Once he separated she grinned.

"Guess I don't have to ask then."

* * *

><p>"Daisya, I-I aaah!" She cried out as she reached her peak and the boy over her grunted as her walls clenched around him. Together they rode out the ecstasy before he collapsed on top of her. She let her hands brush through his hair and he sighed in contentment. It felt so good to have her soft fingers tread through his locks. Neither one of them said anything because there was nothing to be said. Having been in a relationship for a few months now this had become a routine. After a mission they would always end up together, whether it is in the library, cafeteria or one of their rooms.<p>

Being Exorcists, they didn't have a tomorrow, they only had the now. It came with the job.

* * *

><p>TWP: That was the tenth chapter. Just a few recollections of before and after they joined the Order. Ugh, it's 2. Am in the morning and I haven't slept for days. WHOOO! Here comes the crap! I hope you found it enjoyable. I can't believe I added that last part…<p>

Please, do review. I need them to continue writing. They're like sustenance for me and many other authors alike.


	11. Chapter 11

TWP: Thank you, all of you who have review and favorited this story! I LOVE YOU ALL! And so does Ava! And Daisya, although he's dead, and Lavi, Allen, Lenalee, Krory, Kanda hell, even Bookman like you guys now!

**Disclaimer: I only own Ava Krory. Though I don't own the name Krory… Well, this is pretty annoying, going through each and every chapter like this!**

* * *

><p>She had almost reached the valley. It had gotten dark outside before she had been able to get to the village but she had a lot of unspent energy anyway so she walked through the night, taking a few breaks now and then. The sun had started to rise and then she felt the faint, barely noticeable prickling sensation in her back. She had only noticed it because she was on high alert.<p>

'_Akuma!'_ She thought and turned around sharply, trying to find the source of her Innocence's anxiety. Her eyes were momentarily blinded by the rising sun, but once she could see again she saw black dots appearing and flying past her.

'_That's one big horde of Akuma.'_ She thought in worry as she stared at the town at the end of the valley. _'If they're there, then Allen will be on the move already. That eye of his can detect them from miles away.'_ She calmed herself and activated her Innocence. At first she tried to turn her wings into the fairy-like wings she had had under the battle with the Noah, but her wings remained unchanged and she sighed. Why couldn't she do it now?

She took off into the air at the same time as a serpent of fire swallowed several Akuma and destroyed them. She immediately knew who it was. She grinned and her arms began to glow as she joined in on the attack.

"This is a really large group of Akuma, which means a lot of innocent people lost their lives!" She could hear Lavi call from the ground.

"And since there were so many lives that never had a chance of being saved-" Lenalee began but paused as Ava flew past her and struck a few Akuma. "Ava!" She called out happily and the other girl grinned back.

"We choose to fight!" Krory called, finishing the young girl's sentence.

"Because we're Exorcists!" Ava yelled herself as she sunk her arms into one of the last Akuma as Allen destroyed the last one.

"Bring forth salvation to these tormented Akuma souls." He held a hand to his chest and prayed. Once they were finished Lenalee attacked Ava with hugs.

"Where have you been? I was so worried for you!" She whined and Ava hugged the younger girl back.

"I decided to walk here. I had a lot of thinking to do after all. Sorry I worried you." She apologized with a bow but once she was up again Krory hugged her himself.

"Avaaaa! I've missed you!"

"Arystar, you're… denying me… oxygen!" She gasped and sighed in relief when her cousin let go of her before she glomped him back. "Missed you too Arystar."

"Let's hurry!" Allen called. "The sooner we find Master Cross, the sooner this'll be over!" Ava and the others nodded with big smiles on their faces. The sooner she got home, the better. She couldn't have Daisya waiting for her forever now could she?

As they continued their journey Krory gave her his condolences. She waved it off and said it was fine and took the news of the cremation good enough. A little too good for her companions' liking.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Lenalee asked and she nodded.

"Well, I guess I'm not really fully alright but… Daisya left me with his final words and a lot of memories, both good and bad. It would be insulting to him if I gave up now and wallowed in self-pity." She put a hand on her chest, over the locket hidden behind her jacket. The locket with the pictures of him and her family in it. Suddenly a few droplets fell down.

"Is it gonna rain?" She looked up and swore loudly causing the others to look at her slack-jawed. "What?" She asked and they shook their heads.

'_Through everything that's happened I forgot how her personality really is.'_ They all thought to themselves. Nevertheless they all made a break for it running to the harbor, only to realize that the boat wouldn't be able to make it in the storm that was brewing so they had to find themselves an inn. Of course, this proved to be harder than they had thought. There had been many travelers who had missed the ferry and absolutely every inn had been packed full. There weren't even any places left to stand in them.

"Seems like we really have to sleep outside in this rain." Krory said depressed. Ava stiffened then.

"Did you hear that?" The others looked at her confused. Maybe she had imagined it but she could have sworn she had heard the sound of a bell. Then the sound came again and this time she hadn't imagined it. She pushed past them and ran, following the sweet sound. The sound grew stronger the faster she ran and the only image in her mind was the face of Daisya, smirking at her.

'_Daisya… Daisya… DAISYA!'_ She ran out from an alley but the sound was gone and the only thing she could see was light coming from a house that had the sign of an inn in front of it.

"Heeeey, look. Ava found a lodge. Let's hope this one's not full too!" Lavi called and everyone hurried in. Once inside Lenalee hit the bell and a young woman with long blonde hair appeared.

"Welcome." Her voice was soft and gentle.

"Think he'll do it?" Allen asked.

"There's no doubt in my mind." Krory agreed and just seconds after Lavi burst.

"S-Strike!" His eye turned into a heart and he swooned.

"We knew it…" Krory and Allen sighed behind him. "She's totally my type!" Lenalee covered her face in embarrassment but the lady seemed to not take notice of his odd behavior. Also, it seemed like she was blind. Her eyes were closed and hidden behind dark shades. She gave them two keys and said that she could only give them scarce accommodations since her parents, the real owners, were away. Lavi cheered happily.

"By the way, could I get your name please?" He asked and she seemed honestly confused before she answered.

"It's Lulu Bell."

"Aah, thank you, Lulu Bell! You're a lifesaver!" Lavi grabbed her hands and shook them in gratitude.

'_Bell, huh…' _Lenalee noticed Avas distant expression and put a hand on her arm, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Ava, are you tired? Do you want to lie down?" She blinked before she noticed that everyone was staring at her in worry.

"A-ah, maybe I should. I didn't sleep any at all last night after all." She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly and apologized for making them worry. She went up to the counter and grabbed one of the keys. "I'm sorry about this womanizer over here, Ms. Lulu Bell." She said and the girl nodded with a faint smile herself as Lavi protested. Ava then went right past the others and up the stairs to the room she and Lenalee would be sharing.

* * *

><p>"It's our duty as Exorcists to look for the fragments of the cube and find more accommodators to every piece of Innocence we find, but now…" Lenalee trailed off, now really glad that Ava wasn't with them, since this topic brought up the memories of everyone who died in the line of duty. "The Millennium Earl is on the attack, and our comrades are being killed one after the other. Some of them have even had their Innocence fragments destroyed."<p>

"All the more reason to pick up our pace, then." Lavi said lightheartedly and Lenalee nodded in agreement. The only thing they could do to stop the causalities was to find Cross.

"It really is hard to be stuck here, especially when we're so close to Asia and the General's trail." Lavi crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in his chair before the sound of a growling stomach could be heard. Everyone stared at Allen who held his stomach with a grimace. Once they all went to bed Lavi was kept awake by the rumbling sound of both Allen and Krorys stomachs.

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep with all this noise." Lavi complained. "I'm so jealous of Lenalee and Ava, they don't have to live with this." Unknown to him, the two Exorcists' stomachs could be heard on the other side of the wall. Lenalee was covering her ears, trying to block out the noise but she was unsuccessful.

"Ava, do you know what that noise is?" She turned to her friend's bed but saw that it was empty. "Ava?" She got up and looked around but there weren't many places to hide in their small room. Then she saw shadows outside her window. She jumped back just in time to evade the level 1 Akuma that was forced in through the wall and managed to get out before it exploded. High up in the air she could see Ava speed through a group of Akuma leaving destruction in her wake. The others had also woken up to the destruction and had jumped into action.

Allen tried to attack but he was so hungry he had no strength left and that made him an easy target but before the Akuma that had snuck up on him could attack him, Lenalee kicked a big chunk off of it and Ava had grabbed Allen and dragged him with her up.

"Thanks Ava." He called but she didn't reply. Instead she threw him at Lenalee who grabbed him just in time.

"Ava, what are you doing?" She yelled but the girl was already speeding away.

"Hey, have anyone seen Lulu?" Lavi called and the others glanced at each other in worry, thinking that maybe the girl could be in trouble. They raced down to investigate but they could find her nowhere. The only thing they found was a cat with a bell that left the scene.

* * *

><p>Ava flew in circles around the town. Again she could swear that she had heard the bell. She circled around, trying to spot anything suspicious when she heard it. She zoomed off in the direction she had heard it and saw a girl lift up a cat with a bell attached around its neck. After the girl was gone, she landed on the ground, deactivating her Innocence that had grown silent.<p>

"It was only a cat…" She laughed bitterly to herself. Of course it had been just a cat. What else could it have been? The Charity Bell was nothing more than mere broken fragments and its user was… dead. She rested her back against the cold and wet stone wall behind her before she slid to the ground.

'_Why am I doing this to myself when I know the truth?'_ She cried out in anguish mentally. She let her legs slide out halfway and her hands fall to the ground. She didn't care anymore. The rain should just wash her away for good. At least then she could meet up with Daisya again. Memories of him surged through her mind, his smile, his face, his eyes, his temper, his warm arms and body, his soft and gentle touches…

"STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!" She screamed and grabbed her head, forcing the images out of her head as she slammed her skull into the wall behind her. It hurt! It hurt to remember.

"Ava!" She didn't register whose voice it was. All she felt was warm arms draped around her. She froze and looked up, seeing Daisya smile down at her. "Ava." He said again and she reached for his face.

"Daisya?" She felt happiness surge through her and a smile broke out on her face but the moment she touched him he turned into Lavi who wasn't smiling but rather staring at her both confused and worried. Her smile fell off her face and the happiness she had felt left her and was replaced by cold emptiness. Her hands fell to her sides again and the spark of life in her eyes died out.

"Lavi." She said silently.

"You're not 'fine' at all." He muttered as he took her in. She could feel the faint throb in the back of her head but she paid it no heed. She would rather her skull had split open so that she could have left to find Daisya. "Come on, get up." He pulled on both her arms but her legs couldn't keep up her weight so he was forced to help her up on his back, piggy-back style. He was warm, despite being drenched by the rain and she found herself remembering once she had sprained her ankle while training with Daisya. He had carried her back to HQ just as Lavi was carrying her now.

"This isn't healthy for you." He said after a while.

"My body is more robust than others since I'm a Parasite type." She mumbled and he shook his head. "You know that's not what I meant." She stayed silent and he sighed again when he realized she wouldn't answer.

"Ava…" He said and paused, trying to find the right words. "It's not… good for you. Since I'm the successor to Bookman I'm supposed to concentrate more on recording history and all that but I'm an Exorcist too. I knew Daisya, he was a good friend and an excellent Exorcist, but what you're doing to yourself right now isn't fair to neither yourself nor Daisya. I know you're not alright when you mistake me for him." She stiffened once he mentioned her dead lover's name. He steeled himself for a verbal beating but it never came. He glanced over his shoulder to find her staring at his back, her amber eyes so lifeless it almost scared the life out of him. He stopped.

"It's hard, I know, but I'm sure that if Daisya saw how you are right now, he would be sad, and… you said yourself that he left you with a lot of memories. You said that if you gave up and wallowed in self-pity, it would be an insult to his memory."

"I know… but it's hard." She whispered. "It's hard to live knowing I could have saved him. Had I only gone to him first instead of Marie… then maybe he would have been alive now, and maybe his Innocence wouldn't have been destroyed either."

"There's no use thinking about 'what if's'. What's done is done, there's nothing you can change about it." Lavi scolded harshly and she flinched. "The only thing you can do is look forward!" Suddenly explosions could be heard and the light from them lit up the sky.

"Not again! You stay here." Lavi told her when he noticed that she still didn't have any light in her eyes, only guilt. "When the battle's over I'll come get you. Don't you dare do anything stupid until then!" He took off his jacket and put it over her and took off. She stared after him before slumping against the wall and only listened to the sounds of battle coming from the direction Lavi had taken off to. All of what Lavi had told her occupied her mind, she couldn't shake it off.

"I know you're worried… that's why I do my best to make it look like I'm alright."

"That's what's worrying them." Her eyes widened as she heard that voice. She looked up and saw Daisya with his arms crossed a disapproving look on his face. The only thing stopping her from jumping up and running over to him was the fact that he was pale and she could see through his body.

"No, no, no, you're not real!" She cried out and covered her face, willing him to go away.

"That's right. I'm only a fragment of your memory, and you cling to me when you said you wouldn't. Ava, look at me." The girl refused. She only continued to chant that he wasn't real.

"Ava, please look at me." His voice was closer now and she peeked through her fingers and saw that he was sitting in front of her with a tiny smile on his face.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked in defeat and he grinned.

"It's because you're being a crybaby again, like in the good ol' times."

"I'm not!" She exclaimed angrily and he laughed. "Yes, you are! You're clinging to the past, crying and worrying others and it makes me unable to rest. You promised you would go on living. Didn't General Tiedoll say the same? He was going to fulfill his mission in the memory of those who fell!"

"You were dead before then. You don't know about that."

"I'm a memory fragment. I know everything you do."

"I…" Guilt flooded through her. "I don't wanna forget about you." She replied brokenly.

"You don't have to forget about me. I just want you to let it go. I'm gone physically, but I'm still here." He pointed at her heart. "But… you said to find someone else so I wouldn't be alone. That would be betraying you!"

"Stuuuuupid!" She looked up wide-eyes again. "I'm dead, nothing more anyone can do 'bout that. Even so, I told you not to keep everything to yourself. I told you to find someone to keep you happy. If you're happy, I'm happy!"

"B-but-"

"No buts! You're gonna keep your promise! I won't leave until you do. Now, get up and help 'em! Look around you!" She did and saw a group of Akuma fly over her and towards the explosions.

"That's a lot-"

"Of innocent lives that was never saved." She stared at him before taking off Lavi's jacket. She stared at it for a while before coming to a decision.

"I'm an Exorcist." She said lowly and got to her feet. "I destroy Akuma for a living, to protect." The louder she said it, the paler 'Daisya' became.

"I won't forget you! I refuse to forget you!" He frowned at this. "Because I loved you." 'Daisya' grinned then, happily.

"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I guess I wasn't." She said with a tiny smile.

"But it's not enough. I'm not gonna leave until you keep your promise and let me go." He put his hands behind his head with an impish grin.

"It's not easy to let go." She said as she activated her Innocence. "But time heals all wounds. Sorry, it might take a while." He didn't reply to that and she took off, easily catching up with the group of Akuma that had passed her by. She flew high above them before her wings transformed into hands and she fell down landing on one Akuma, ripped it apart before jumping on to the next. By the time she was finished so was the others and they had returned to where Lavi had left her.

"I swear I left her here!" Lavi looked around worried, finding no trace of her.

"You shouldn't have left her alone!" Lenalee exclaimed, ready to activate her Innocence again and try to locate her from the air.

"Ava! Where are you?" Krory called just as she walked out from a side-alley. "What are you guys doing?" She asked incredulously and they all turned to her. Not only was she drenched from the rain she was also soaked in blood.

"Ava! Where the hell have you been?" Lavi shouted angrily and Allen shushed him.

"Calm down Lavi-"

"I won't calm down! You didn't see how she was when I found her, she-"

"Look at the worry-wart. One would think he cared more than he lets on." 'Daisya' grinned mischievously. "Shut up." She snapped halfheartedly at him, only causing him to chuckle, and walked up to Lavi and handed him his jacket.

"I was fighting a group of Akuma, Lavi. Here, thanks for letting me borrow this." She said and smiled sweetly before she suddenly hugged him. "You gave me a real wake-up call. I'm really sorry." She added as she released him and he stared at her dumbfounded. She turned to the others.

"I'm really sorry. I haven't been myself. I won't hide it anymore, losing Yeegar and Daisya was hard on me, but it was hard on those back at HQ too. I wallowed in self-pity when Lavi found me earlier and he gave me a piece of his mind." She chuckled as Lavi rubbed his head in embarrassment. "It was a real wake-up call. I won't pretend anymore. Please, take good care of me."

"Of course!" Lenalee hugged her. "You only have to ask. You don't have to carry the burden alone." She said and a few tears escaped the older girl's eyes.

"Oh shit. Not again." She whined as they began to fall. "She's crying again!" Lavi laughed and she bonked him on his head.

"I'm not crying! It's the rain!" He laughed and chanted "Crybaby, crybaby."

"You're so dead!"

"Eeek!" Lavi gave a girlish scream before-

_Plonk_

"What the-"

"Are you kidding me?"

"AVA!" Krory gathered her up as she snored loudly. In the middle of her chase after Lavi she had fallen asleep.

"Hey, Krory-kins, is she narcoleptic or something?"

* * *

><p>TWP: That's the end for now guys. Thank you for reading. I hope I haven't made thing complicated by making her see some sort of ghost of Daisya. It's just supposed to get her on the right track. I know of many people who imagined someone they cared a lot for (that has died) being there for them. And I'll answer Lavi's question. No, she's no narcoleptic, it's just that she falls asleep easily when she hasn't had anything to eat for a while plus… well, she's lazy. Her Innocence is very strong for her body so she sleeps a lot and eats a lot, like Parasite types usually do.<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

TWP: Finally the twelfth chapter. Gaaaawd I'm tired. Alright, let's get this back on the right track.

**Disclaimer: I do not own -Man. I only own Ava Krory and that's the reason why she's crying a lot in this fic.**

* * *

><p>"Just one trip across the channel and everything feels so oriental." Lenalee sighed in contentment and the others agreed wholeheartedly. Allen then told them that Timcanpy still pointed to the East.<p>

"Further east, like to India or China?" Lenalee frowned and Lavi jumped up. "How far is the General going, huh?"

"W-well, the world's a big place." Allen defended himself and Krory agreed, trying desperately to eat the weird ice cream that stretched making Ava laugh loudly.

"Never seen anything like that before." She said as Krory glared at her for laughing.

"Well, this will be a good chance for Krory-kins to gain some street smarts." Lavi pointed out but suddenly the chair fell backwards and the ice cream spilled out over Krory. "Holy -! Arystar, you alright?" Ava asked as she walked around the table and helped her cousin up.

"Yeah, I'm alright." He stumbled a bit. They were completely unaware of the eyes that were watching them. The five Exorcists made their way to a hotel the Order had made reservations in and the clerk met up with them, taking their luggage.

"Finally we can get some rest!" Lavi said happily. Allen turned and noticed that Krory was gone.

"Where's Krory?" He asked and the other two turned.

"He was just behind us." Lavi stared in disbelief.

"He's gone?" Lenalee spoke up. Indeed, Krory was gone and so was his cousin.

"You think he got lost?" Allen asked but Lenalee shook her head. "Maybe he's with Ava?"

"I'm not willing to take that risk. I'm gonna look for him." Lavi called and went ahead of them and out of the hotel, hoping to find the oldest Krory fast so he could rest.

* * *

><p>"And this is what we call-" Ava turned to her cousin but found out that she was alone. A vein popped up on her forehead when she realized that the reason why people had been staring at the weirdly was because it had appeared that she had been talking to herself.<p>

"Aryyyystaaaaar…." She growled and stomped down the streets looking for her cousin to no avail.

"You should have kept an eye on him. You know how easily he gets lost." 'Daisya' chided from beside her. "Shut up. You could have told me." She glared at him and he held up his hands in defense.

"Hey, I'm just a memory fragment. I know nothing more than you do. If you don't see it, then neither do I." She sighed and slapped a hand over her face. She dug into her pockets and lit a cigarette.

"You really should quit smoking."

_'Even if he's only a memory fragment he sure sounds like Daisya.' _She thought in annoyance and he grinned. "Of course I do. This is how you remember him." Her eyes widened.

'_You can hear what I think?'_

"I'm part of you. Of course I can."

'_It would have been nice if you had told me that earlier so I could have avoided being looked upon as a fucking lunatic…' _She growled mentally and he laughed.

"Where's the fun in that?" She groaned and hastened her pace, eager to get rid of the ghost but no matter how fast she ran he kept up with her. She growled and ran out of the city, took off her jacket, activating her Innocence and shooting off into the sky. She smirked triumphantly but even there he floated beside her.

"You can't get rid of me that way." He grinned and she sighed in defeat. Then she noticed a giant hammer in the distance, slamming down on the ground again and again.

"What the hell?" She wondered but realized that it had to be Lavi. She sped up and saw him kneel on a tiny cliff. "Lavi! What's going on?" She called and he glanced at her over his shoulder and waved as she landed.

"There's an Akuma down there that's captured Lenalee… well it could be the fake Lenalee but better safe than sorry."

"Fake Lenalee?" She frowned confused but he shrugged, telling her that he would explain it later.

"This may be a little hardcore but…" He activated his Innocence and transcended to level 2, using the fire stamp to attack. Once the Akuma was out in the open he leaped up and grabbed Lenalee who had come free of its imprisonment. The Akuma only had its eyes on Lavi and Lenalee and didn't notice Ava until it was too late. She leaped too and landed on the Akuma.

"W-what? Who are you?" Grotesque hands shot out from the Exorcist's back and tore the Akuma apart.

"What did it look like?" She asked not expecting an answer as she lit a cigarette and walked up to Lavi. "How is she?"

"I think she's alright. Let's find some shadows. It's not good for her to stay out under the sun like this." She nodded and they looked around for some protection against the scorching sun. It didn't take them long before they found some trees and they put Lenalee under it. While they waited for the girl to wake up Lavi explained the situation to Ava who fell deep into thought.

"Lavi? Ava? Is Allen and Krory with you?" Lenalee asked and looked around.

"Well, if you're worried about the others when you wake up after what happened, then I guess we got the real one." Lavi grinned. Lenalee shot up then as she remembered what had happened but winced as pain surged through her right side.

"Hey, did that scorpion Akuma do something to you?" Lavi asked concerned. Lenalee wasn't sure, since she had been unconscious the whole time but her body was numb and heavy, she could barely move.

"Just relax and let me take care of you. You'll be amazed at how much I've learned about first aid since becoming an Exorcist." Lavi smiled gently and Lenalee nodded in gratitude.

"You jealous?" Ava jumped. She hadn't realized that she had been staring at the two and the ghost beside her grinned innocently as she glared back.

'_I'm not jealous.' _She thought before she remembered something.

"Lavi, you said that the other one was an exact copy of Lenalee?" Lavi nodded as he checked Lenalee's sides.

'_If this one was an exact copy… could it be… maybe it was a Noah?' _Realization hit her hard and she stumbled back a few steps, catching the attention of her companions as she began to worry about Krory and Allen.

"Ava, what's wrong?" Lavi asked noticing the look of absolute terror on her face.

"You don't think… that she could have been a Noah?" She asked slowly and the two Exorcists eyes widened. "I mean, the Noah that killed General Yeegar and Daisya… he could phase through peoples bodies… if one of them have such an ability then there's no reason to think that one of them don't have the ability to change their appearance like that."

"Shit, you're right." Lavi swore. This meant that Allen and Krory were in serious danger.

"But then, what will happen to Allen and Krory?" Lenalee closed in on being hysterical.

"Hey, hey, listen!" Ava grabbed Lenalee's shoulders. "Allen and Arystar are strong! Even if it is a Noah they'll be fine! They're two, the Noah is only one! They'll be fine. Right now, we've gotta get you back to the hotel to rest." She glanced at Lavi who nodded to reassure Lenalee.

"You know those two. They can get through anything." Lavi helped her calm down and together they brought Lenalee back to the hotel and laid her down on the bed. Ava was waiting down in the lobby for the two missing Exorcists for hours but there was no sign of them. In the end she called the clerk and told them to contact them if the two showed up. Then she walked up the stairs and once she closed in on the door to Lenalee's' room she could hear voices.

"Have you heard from Allen and Krory yet?" She heard Lenalee first.

"No, not yet."

"You should go find them, seriously." Lenalee was worried, that much was clear. The sweet young girl had always been setting other people's needs in front of her own.

"Hey, we have to get you healed first. I say we contact Bookman and then rendezvous with Allen and Krory later and tell them to meet up with us." Lavi said and she could hear the rustling of sheets. Lenalee's voice was sadder and more silent now.

"Okay, you're right. I guess I would be a burden to you like this."

"You know I would never think of you that way." Lavi's voice was so soft and gentle; Ava had never heard him sound like this before. Her gut clenched and she felt cold though she didn't know why.

"I'm just as worried about what's going on with our friends as you are. I bet Ava has it rough too, with Krory being missing. For now though, we need to make sure that you're 100 % fine when we see them again." Ava heard the soft sobs coming from inside and realized that Lenalee was trying to keep from crying.

"How about you get some sleep?" Lavi said and stood up, heading for the door. Ava retreated from it and hurried back to the end of the corridor and acted like she had come up from the lobby just then.

"How is she?" She asked as Lavi closed the door behind him.

"Her wound wasn't bad but it's doing something to her and I think she's blaming herself for being caught." Ava looked down on the ground when Lavi turned towards her. "What's wrong?" He asked and she shook her head, telling him it was nothing as she rested her back against the wall. Lavi of course didn't buy it.

"Hey, you can tell me." He peered at her and she turned away. "It's nothing, really." She shrugged.

"You said you wouldn't keep things to yourself. Fess up." He grabbed her shoulders and she winced at the edge in both his voice and eyes.

"T-this has nothing to do with General Yeegar and Daisya." She stammered. "You're hurting me." She added in a whisper and he realized how hard he had clutched her and let go, taking a few steps back.

"Sorry." He mumbled, a bit ashamed of himself for letting his emotions run away with him. She rubbed her arms and bowed her head forward, letting her bangs cover most of her face. This would leave a bruise, she knew it.

"I'll go look for Allen and Arystar. You take Lenalee back to Bookman." She said and brushed past him, running down the corridor and down the stairs. She passed by 'Daisya' before she reached the stairs.

"Liar." He muttered and she clenched her eyes tightly shut. Lavi had reached out for her but she had slipped away before he could grab her again and he watched as she hurried down the stairs, a pained expression on her face.

'_How did she… know we were going to meet up with gramps?' _He thought before he realized it. She had been standing outside the door while he talked with Lenalee. But why had she acted like she had just reached their floor when he came out the door? And why was she so distant now? Had he scared her from opening up when he had reacted like that?

"Aah, shit!" He swore and followed her but when he got outside she was already gone. A lot of people were whispering together and pointing at the sky, betraying the fact that Ava had ignored her usual subtlety and just activated her Innocence in a crowd. He went back into his own room to get some rest before he took Lenalee to meet up with Bookman. Ava could take care of herself… he hoped.

* * *

><p>TWP: Yup, finally she's realizing something that 'Daisya' knew all the time. If you think I'm being too fast and all that, then remember that even it has only been a few weeks or something like that since Daisya died, she's heeding his last words, without even knowing it.<p>

I am also happy to tell you that Satsuriku-Sama offered to be my beta-reader so now, no more grammar mistakes. Rejoice! I know I am ; )


	13. Chapter 13

TWP: If it wasn't for the reviews and the love I have for this manga/anime, I wouldn't have come as far as I have now. Thank you all! And I'm really, really sorry it took so long between the last update and now, really!

**Disclaimer: I own Ava Krory. Now she doesn't cry about that fact anymore and that makes me happy!**

* * *

><p>It was late evening when Ava walked into the village. She could see that many of the men were carrying shovels, ropes and pitchforks. Then they noticed her and walked up to her.<p>

"Who are you stranger?" The one who seemed to be the leader demanded. She raised an eyebrow at him and he raised his shovel threateningly.

"Why do you ask?" She asked him. "I just came here so whatever happened it wasn't my fault. I'm looking for two people. One is tall man with hair colored in the same way as mine; the other is slightly shorter boy with white hair and a pentacle on his face. They both wear the same clothing as me."

"Get out!" The leader exclaimed and her eyes widened as he held the shovel up to her face. "You monsters ain't welcome here!"

"Monsters?" Ava growled. "Try fucking calling me that again old man! I've had a lot more deadly weapons shoved in my face than your tiny shovel!" She glared at him, pushed away the offending item and the aura she gave off caused the men to take a step back.

"You don't scare us!" The leader called but she could see him trembling slightly. She scoffed.

"You're lucky I'm an Exorcist and not an Akuma." She said and turned around, leaving the village.

"And don't you come back!" They called after her and she growled again turning around sharply.

"Don't act like you scared me off! I'll come back if I want to, so just shut the fuck up!" She yelled shaking her fist at them before she left the village. Well out of it she found stone stairs and she thought that there could be a possibility that they had gone up them. She shrugged to herself and began climbing them too when she met a girl with brown hair clad in pink and red clothes.

"Hey, missy!" She called and the girl jumped, for she had seemed to be in deep thought. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I wondered if you had seen two guys wearing the same crest as I. One is tall with hair colored the same way as mine, looking like Dracula and the other is slightly shorter with white hair and a pentacle on his face." Her eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously.

"You have? Where?" Ava asked eagerly and the girl pointed up the stairs.

"They went with Salem to find the guardian of the village over there. It disappeared and according to Salem it had walked by itself. They were going to investigate it. I think they said it could be something they called 'Innocence'." Ava gazed at the long stair and sighed.

"Of all the… all the way up there... Ah, thanks missy. You saved me a lot of trouble." Ava said and lit a cigarette and continued to climb. "Now you better hurry home. If it has something to do with Innocence there's bound to be Akuma and that means it's not safe for you outside." The girl nodded, though Ava didn't expect her to understand much and ran down the remainders of the stairs.

* * *

><p>Lenalee woke up after a while due to the bumping of the carriage she was in.<p>

"You're finally awake." Lavi noted.

"Where are we?" Lenalee asked.

"In a carriage. We're on the way to meet Bookman." The redhead told her as she looked out of the window.

"Were you able to contact Allen and Krory?" She asked before she turned back and noticed they were lacking one person. "Where's Ava?"

"We weren't able to contact them so she went on a search."

"Are you crazy? What if something happens?" Lenalee exclaimed but grabbed her head. "Ow ow ow." She whimpered. Lavi had been surprised by her outburst but didn't really have a real answer. Ava had just run out on him after all. Of course he could have tried finding her but she had used her Innocence to get away. She had seemed upset so he really did regret not following her but it was too late now anyway.

"Ava is strong; she can take care of herself." He reassured her. "It looked like something was bothering her when she left but I'm sure it's just her worrying over Krory. They're a blood relatives after all." He tried to reassure her and she nodded after a while.

"What comes first is finding Bookman so he can make you better." Lenalee felt her forehead and sighed at her persistant fever.

"I'm sorry. I overreacted." She said and lay down again.

Ava felt her back tingle faintly and she hid, looking across the sky. Soon enough she saw a horde of Akuma. Her eyes widened. There was a lot of level 1 and a few level 2. This would be tough alone but if Allen and Krory were up there she could follow the Akuma and stop them from ambushing her comrades. She ran up the steps, managing to keep out of their sight and still keep them in her sight. Soon enough they stopped outside a ruin, waiting a few moments before charging in, busting through the walls.

'_Ugh, so much for that plan!'_She thought and charged in too. She saw both Krory and Allen in battle already with Akumas and a moving statue. She jumped and activated her Innocence, flying over the Akuma close enough to gather their attention. They turned towards her but she had already turned towards Allen who was pinned down by the guardian statue. She gathered speed and grabbed the statue, throwing her away.

"Is that an… angel?" Salem thought out loud as he saw the shadow with white wings save Allen.

"Ava!" Allen yelled as he got up.

"Talk later, kill now!" Ava called back and leaped up, grazing as many Akuma as she could with her arms but before she could engage the rest they suddenly retreated.

"Dammit!" She heard Allen curse seeing as he was too tired to follow the retreating Akuma, but she wasn't. She readied herself to follow but Allen called her down. She landed and hugged Krory before scolding them because they got lost. Salem found the real statue and they took it with them down to the village where they were welcomed happily. It was heavy to carry but Ava had carried it while she was flying. It was a strain on her arms but her wings had no problem carrying them both.

Once the statue was in its rightful place the village made a feast in honor for the ones who went to get it. The three Exorcists filled their stomachs before they turned to the entrance of the village. They had wasted enough time already. Before they left though, someone grabbed a hold of Ava's jacket. She turned and found several children stare up at her with wide eyes.

"Lady, are you an angel?" They asked and she blinked before she kneeled in front of them.

"Oh no. Angels are strong-willed and kind-hearted. I'm just a human, like you guys." She ruffled their hair and then left with Allen and Krory, no one but the children realizing they were leaving before it was too late.

"Hey, there's the bridge! Once we cross this we can meet up with Lavi and Lenalee!" Allen called eagerly and ran for the bridge but before they reached it a small explosion happened on the other side and the bridge fell.

"Dammit, their goal was to slow us down." Krory realized but Ava smirked. "They won't be able to do that. Not with me here." She grabbed their arms and they soared over the gap and over the mountains. They would fly for as long as she could use her Innocence. She was tired of walking anyway.

* * *

><p>"I can't move Lenalee! She's in a bad condition!" Lavi exclaimed into the phone.<p>

"_You're being targeted Lavi." _Bookman said on the other side._"They didn't duplicate Lenalee merely to escape your attack. It is likely they intended to divide you and I don't think the Akuma could have thought out this plan by themselves. They're being led by someone, someone smart." _Lavi gasped as he recalled what Ava had said.

'_Don't you think there's a possibility that one of the Noah has the ability to copy other people's appearances?'_

"We do have a Noah on our trail." He muttered and on the other end the old man nodded.

"_I believe so. With Lenalee unable to fight they will most likely come after you. Get out of there quickly, Lavi._" Enough was said and Bookman hung up. Lavi put the phone down too and stared in worry at Lenalee. He was torn between getting out of there with Lenalee or let her rest some more. It was dangerous to move her but if they really were targeted then he had to get them out of there quickly. He sighed. There was no way around it. He woke up Lenalee and told her to get ready to leave. Once outside he had her sit down on the handle of the hammer as he used its ability to extend to travel.

"_I just hope we get there without being attacked." _He thought. "_Guys, where are you?_"

Things ended up getting worse. They weren't attacked but Akuma were patrolling the sky. Lenalee was too sick to fight and they had to go by foot. They found a girl in need of help and once the Akuma attacking her had been taken care off she started following them. Lenalee fainted from exhaustion and they used the rest of the day to rest but when night came her fever was worse than when they had started. This worried Lavi greatly.

"Do you think Allen and the others are alright?"

"Hm?" Lavi looked at her.

"If it wasn't for me getting captured we would still have been with them. I've made nothing but trouble for you, Lavi." Even though she was bedridden and getting weaker she still thought about the others.

"Don't waste your energy worrying about them; I'm sure they're doing fine. They're all pretty strong. You just rest up, okay?" Lenalee told him to leave her behind if she became too much of a burden but Lavi shook his head. He would get her to Bookman even if it was the last thing he would do.

"No matter what happens, I won't leave you."

"She's asking you to leave her here… so why not obey her wishes?" Lavi turned towards the girl they had picked up, her voice completely different from what it had been earlier. "She doesn't want you to take her, so why should you? Self-sacrifice will not necessarily help the one you're trying to save." She looked almost sad as she said this.

"Mimi…" Lavi frowned and she gasped as she realized what she had been saying.

"What am I saying? I'm sorry, it wasn't my place. Maybe I'm just sleepy, I'm going to wash my face." She said and ran off to the stream. Lavi stood up and stared after her, not able to shake off the feeling that she knew something he didn't. Still, he helped Lenalee get on his back while Mimi carried their luggage as they continued the journey through the canyon. Lavi cursed under his breath when it started to rain. Lenalee was weak enough form before; she didn't need the cold rain to make her condition worse!

A tiny flood of water came out of nowhere and Lavi turned around and held on to Lenalee but the force made him lose his grip. Once it was gone he jumped up to his feet and ran over to Lenalee.

"Are you alright?" She nodded. "It's just a little further-" Before he could finish though Mimi grabbed his hammer and leaped back.

"I've got your Innocence." She grinned.

"You're an enemy?!" She continued to grin innocently. "Too bad! You were tired and off your guard." She threw it up and a level 2 Akuma grabbed it and flew off, making Lavi's eyes widen in horror. They were defenseless.

"Oh no, Madame Lulu Bell's gonna destroy your Innocence."

"The Noah?!" The Akuma girl smirked and took out her iron fans. "Now then, it's time to clean the house!" Seeing no other option Lavi grabbed Lenalee and ran but the iron fans Mimi used came back just like a boomerang and easily cut through thick stones. "I want to see Madame Lulu Bell smile! If you would just die that would be fantastic!" She slashed the air with her fans, making a few blades come loose and pass by Lavi and Lenalee except for one that hit Lavi in his left shoulder. The force swept him off his feet and he fell, dropping Lenalee. With a grunt he ripped it out of him.

"Lavi, get out of here while you can." Lenalee begged him but he refused.

"Hell no!" He said and picked her up again and ran. He couldn't leave her behind and he had no way to fight. He only had one option. But Mimi caused the cliffs to cave in and cut off their escape route before she attacked again. Once the dust settled her iron fans turned to normal.

"That's the end for you." She giggled but suddenly she felt pain in her back and Lavi landed in front of her.

"How does it feel to be done in by your own weapon?" He glowered at her and she glanced over her shoulder seeing that indeed she had been pierced by her own blade.

"That doesn't even make any sense." She growled and ripped it out. "This is the end, though." She smiled sweetly again as three level 2 Akuma gathered behind her. Before they could attack though, thousands of needles rained down and trapped the Akuma. Lavi looked up to find Bookman stare down at them. The old man jumped down and gave Lavi his hammer and told him to take care of the rest while he treated Lenalee.

"You can lecture me later panda!" Lavi yelled and activated his Innocence, getting into his battle stance. He used the fire stamp and swallowed all of the level 1 Akuma but Mimi managed to get away.

"She got away." Lavi breathed out before collapsing on the ground from both exhaustion and slight blood loss.

Hours later Lenalee was feeling much better. Tired, but better.

"Take care of her gramps. I'm gonna get some rest." His left hand was in a cast and put in a sling and he got two patches on his face too. He went to the door but Lenalee stopped him.

"Lavi, thanks for protecting me to the very end." She smiled sweetly and he waved before leaving the room.

"He thinks he's so cool." Bookman shook his head but Lenalee said that he was just shy. Suddenly Allen, Krory and Ava burst in through the door and Lavi, who had been unfortunate enough to stand in front of the door when they came running met the wall on the other side of the room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled angrily but they ignored him.

"Lenalee!" Ava cried and threw herself over the surprised girl. "A-Ava! How did you guys manage to catch up with us so fast?" She was happy about it but also very surprised.

"Ava flew so fast I almost puked up the food I ate before leaving that village." Allen looked quite pale but Krory seemed to be unfazed. Probably because of the speed he used in battles. He too was crying as he saw that the young girl was alright.

"Hey, what about me? You guys rushed in here and made my wounds worse!" Lavi called from his position on the floor. Ava released Lenalee and stared at him before throwing herself over him too.

"Lavi! Thank god you're both alive!" The others laughed as he blushed and flailed his arms trying to keep his balance as he muttered something about being okay despite his arm being in a sling. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" She let her hand slide over the cast and he shook his head.

"No… no more than those two when they barged through the door like idiots!" He glared and the two male Exorcists rubbed their heads sheepishly while sweatdropping. "We're sorry." They bowed and everyone laughed at their antics. Lavi and Ava both got to their feet before Lavi walked over to the door.

"I'm going to rest." He said simply again and Ava followed him, claiming that she was tired after carrying Allen and Krory all the way while at the same time flying at top speed. Bookman stared after the two, deep in thought before shaking his head. He had nothing to fear. The girl had just lost someone important to her, she wouldn't go after Lavi and the boy knew that as the successor to Bookman, he had to rid himself of his heart.

"By the way, we met a Finder who saw my master in China. If we hurry we might manage to catch him before he leaves." Allen explained to the Bookman who nodded.

"That is valuable information indeed."

Lavi opened the door, revealing two big beds and a couch. Without saying a word, Ava went to the couch and lay down.

"What are you doing?" Lavi asked incredulously as he watched her. She turned towards him and raised an eyebrow. "What does it look like?" He shook his head. She knew what he meant and he wasn't really in the mood for games right now.

"I meant, why aren't you taking one of the beds?"

"One of them is Bookman's, right?" He nodded. "I rest my case." She said before she sat up again and removed her jacket before fishing out a pack of cigarettes. "God, I need a smoke first." She said and went to the door.

"You can just open a window you know. I won't be bothered by the smell. The old panda smokes all the time." She seemed a bit unsure before she went to the window and opened it up, lit the cigarette and leaned on the windowsill before taking a drag. She released it with a content sigh and let a small smile grace her face as she stared at the full moon. Lavi who had already laid down under the covers stared.

"What's so good about smoking?" He asked and she glanced at him before returning her gaze to the moon. She held her cigarette out to him. "Wanna find out?"

"No…" She smirked and took another drag, pinning the cigarette between her lips as she brought out her locket and opened it. "Then don't ask."

"Haha, very funny." His sarcasm made her chuckle before she took the cigarette from her lips and put it out. "What are you doing?"

"Saving it for later. I'm almost out." She explained and put it back in the pack before she took one last look at the contents in the locket and shut it.

"What's so special about the locket?" He asked and she raised an eyebrow

"Weren't you supposed to rest?" Ava was getting annoyed at his questions.

"Hard to when there's a beautiful woman in the room." He grinned and she shook her head with a snort before throwing the locket over to him. He caught it and opened it and examined the pictures.

"The picture to the right is showing me, Arystar, Tristan and Duke. The one to the left is Daisya." She told him as she arranged her jacket to cover her while she slept. He nodded and took one long look. He noticed that Krory hadn't changed much, except growing lot taller and getting sharper features. He threw it back and she immediately put it back around her neck.

"Reminders to why you fight, right?" She nodded. "How is your family?" She remained silent for a while before answering and turning her back to him at the same time.

"He seems to be doing alright." She responded and it took him a second to understand what she had said. "He? Not 'they'?" She didn't say anything more, she only nodded.

"Krory is the only one left?" She nodded again. "What happened?" A few minutes passed and he thought she wouldn't answer his question.

"Akuma and Angel." She answered.

'_Akuma and Angel?'_He thought in confusion but when adding Akuma to something it could only mean death. He wondered what Angel meant though. "You aren't seriously going to sleep on the couch are you?" He asked and she looked over her shoulder.

"You see anything else here?"

"Yeah, gramps bed."

"No one ever taught you to respect your elders?" She raised an eyebrow as he nodded but grinned mischievously.

"The old panda can take the couch. He's short enough for it." He said and she shook her head. "You must be out of your mind if you think I will let an old man sleep on the couch. I'm perfectly fine here." She said.

"Then take my bed." He insisted.

"You're hurt." She deadpanned and he sweatdropped. "You're pretty stubborn, ain't ya?"

"Look who's talking." She retorted and he grunted. "Not as bad as you are."

"Yes you are."

"No I ain't."

"Yes you are!"

"No I ain't!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"NO!" They had both gotten up on their feet and were now having a glaring match. Sparks were literally flying between them and neither one of them backed down. They were both too stubborn to do it this time. They stood there for several minutes, neither of them blinking before suddenly their eyes became so dry they began to itch and they both turned away at the same time to rub them. Simultaneously they turned back around again to continue but first then did they notice how close they were. Their faces were but inches away from each other. The first to turn away was Ava.

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"You shouldn't be sorry." 'Daisya' appeared. _'Shut up!'_She hissed at him. This wasn't the time for any such thoughts. It was way too early.

"It's partly my fault too." Lavi muttered and rubbed his neck. "Anyways, since you don't want to take either one of the beds here for yourself, and I won't let you sleep on the couch, you'll just have to share a bed with me."

"Yeah, sure- wait, what now?!"

"You heard me!"

"You've gotta be kidding me!" She said and turned for the couch but he grabbed her arm, dragged her to the bed, sat down and pulled her down with him before pulling the covers over them both.

"Nope. Not kidding." She was about to get up but he held her down. "You're gonna stay, whether you like it or not!" Yet another glaring match begun but this time Ava gave up, she was exhausted and wanted to sleep. She laid her head down, using his uninjured arm as a pillow, and closed her eyes.

"Fine. You win this time." She was too tired to argue anymore and his warm body was making her even sleepier.

"You know, I hate Innocence as much as I love it. It took away my family, Yeegar and Daisya… but at the same time it gave me the opportunity to know them, even if was only for a short time... and you guys too."She snuggled up to him as he stared at her wide eyed at what she had just said but he didn't protest so she let herself relax and fell asleep immediately, the successor to Bookman following shortly after. In the corner of the room, 'Daisya' turned even paler than he had been before but this was something Ava missed to notice when she woke up.

* * *

><p>TWP: Alright, this chapter is finally over too.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

TWP: And finally, we're in China! Took a lot of time but we're finally here!

**Disclaimer: I do not own -Man.**

* * *

><p>The Exorcists had finally arrived in Guangzhou, the center of trade for the whole province of Canton. General Cross was just a stone's throw away and they decided to go sightseeing before looking for him. Allen then pointed out that it must be nice for Lenalee to be back in her homeland but she seemed a bit sad by the fact.<p>

"I don't think of this as my homeland." She said as she grabbed an umbrella from a stand and looked up at the sky. "It might seem strange but the Order's really the only home I have. Everyone back home is my family and being with you guys makes me happier than anything." Ava walked up to her and put her arm around the younger girl's shoulder and gave her a handkerchief.

"You don't have to hold back on us, you know." She said as Lenalee dried her tears. "It's not strange at all!" Allen exclaimed and Lavi agreed.

"We understand. Sticking together is the most important thing we do."

"I'm really surprised Lavi." The three turned towards Ava. "You sounded so nice and wise just now."

"H-hey! I'm always nice!" Lavi exclaimed shaking his fist at her as the others laughed. The mood had efficiently become light and cheery again. "Alright, but not wise."

"Are you making fun of me?" Lavi glared at her.

"What if I am? It worked, didn't it?" Ava winked innocently back before he made to reach for her but she ducked under his arm and hid behind Allen. "HUMAN SHIELD!" She yelled and Allen got a funny expression on his face.

"Eh?"

"Hiding behind Allen won't save ya!" Lavi called as he rolled up his sleeves but before he could do anything Lenalee broke out into laughter again. After a moment the rest did too. "Well, we should probably get back to gramps. I don't want to add being late being another reason to yell at me." Lavi said and the others nodded but before they could move a cat snatched Timcanpy and ran away.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" People turned to stare at the foul mouthed girl who ran after the cat with her friends behind her. Lenalee activated her Innocence and took off after the cat but then Allen's eye reacted to the presence of Akuma.

"Lavi, duck!"

"Eh?" Lavi turned towards Allen only to meet the mouth of the gun and as light gathered inside it he ducked, as he had been told. "Are you crazy?!" Allen got rid of five but the moment one appeared behind him Lavi used his fire stamp and so, in less than a minute six Akuma had been destroyed. Lavi sighed in relief before yelling out.

"Are you seriously trying to kill me?! You're even scarier than the Akuma!" Allen didn't understand what he meant. He had been too absorbed into destroying the Akuma to bother thinking about what he had done.

"Um, what did I do that was so scary?"

"Are you kidding me? You aimed that canon of yours right in my face, dammit!"

"I had to or else those Akuma would have taken us down!" Allen defended himself.

"You didn't seem to mind if I got hurt! Come on, you almost shot me!" The redhead waved his arms with a scowl on his face.

"Yeah, but I was really careful not to." Allen said before Ava got in between them and pushed them apart. "What's done is done! Lavi, he didn't even hit you, quit your damn whining. Allen, if you're gonna aim like that, give us more than a two-seconds warning. Right now, we better find Timcanpy."

"Look out!" They all looked up, certain that they had heard Lenalee when suddenly they all jumped back and narrowly avoided being hit by her. "Hey, I'm back." She grinned as she took the cat off her shoulder and held him out.

"You said Allen is scary?" Ava glanced at Lavi. "At least he doesn't look so innocent when he almost kills us!" Lenalee didn't know what they were talking about until they told her about the Akuma. Suddenly Bookman landed on Lavi's head and neck.

"Hm that was an even bigger waste of time than I thought."

"Hey… of all the places to sit, why my neck?" Lavi groaned under the weight. In the end, they came to the conclusion that the Akuma attack had been only one of the many that would come. The Akuma were tailing them, no doubt about it. The Akuma wanted the General which meant they had to hurry.

"It seems we have to hurry after all." Bookman said gravely.

"That's exactly what I said when you were drinking tea!" Lavi yelled before Ava bonked him on the back of his head.

"Shut up you drama-queen!"

* * *

><p>They arrived at their destination, a huge city with a lot of people.<p>

"At least we can ask around." Krory said and Bookman agreed. "We'll have to find some information, indeed." So they split up into groups of three. Bookman, Allen and Lenalee being the first group, the rest the second group. Despite the huge crowd there seemed to be no one who had seen Cross or anyone that looked like him at all and they were starting to lose hope when Allen suddenly contacted them and said that he had found the location. They all hurried to find each other before they left to locate the General's last location. Hopefully he was still there.

"Allen… you sure about this?" Ava asked and Allen looked away in embarrassment.

"According to the man in the bun stand General Cross is the new boyfriend of the woman who owns this place?" Lenalee asked and Allen twitched. "Yeah, and from what I know about master I don't doubt it for a second."

"Isn't this… a brothel?" Ava asked uncomfortably and when Allen didn't deny it she slumped her shoulders. "He hasn't changed at all, has he?"

"No..." Allen said depressed and she shuddered. Before they could go in though a huge, broad-shouldered woman appeared and covered her door.

"No first-timers allowed and definitively not kids!" A vein appeared on Avas forehead and she marched up to the woman and engaged her in a glaring contest.

"I'm a perfectly legal adult!" She said and the others sweatdropped. Wasn't it she that just a moment ago didn't want to go in?

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"YEAH!" The five behind them sweatdropped. She certainly cared about herself being an adult or not.

"He looks big." Allen whimpered.

"He's got boobs. I think 'he's' a 'she'." Lavi whispered back as the ever observant Bookman heir and the woman slammed her fist into her palm threateningly causing them to jump back.

"We're just passing through!" Allen tried to reason.

"Can girls even get that big?" Lavi wondered aloud.

"We gotta get out of here!" Krory looked around, seemingly in a hurry to get away. The woman leaned down closer to Ava before whispering something and then stuck out her tongue. Ava nodded.

"Thank you, my good lady." She then waved at the others; motioning for them to follow her while the woman went inside again. Once they were behind the fancy-looking building Ava went in through a door and once inside they were met by the lady again. Instead of attacking them, like the others thought she would, she nodded and motioned for them to follow her this time. She led them up a few flight of stairs and then inside a room where beautiful woman waited for them.

"Welcome, Exorcists. It's such an honor having you. You may call me Anita, the owner of this establishment." She smiled sweetly but the six just stared at her in awe, wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

"Allen… is your master good with the ladies?" Ava asked silently, feeling very self-conscious at that moment. "Unfortunately, yes." Allen whispered back.

"So beautiful." Lenalee admired.

"I hit the jackpot!" Lavi exclaimed before Ava and Bookman both punched him.

"I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just say it." Dread coursed through them when she said that, and they kind of knew what she was going to say. "If you're here for General Cross I'm afraid you're too late. He left some time ago, on a ship." The group hung their head in depression as the news sunk in.

"We have to travel more?!" Ava groaned, feeling tired already.

"The ship he was on… we know it was attacked… and it sank to the bottom of the sea." Their eyes widened in concern. "It sank eight days ago and there were no survivors."

"Do you have any evidence to prove that?" Bookman asked her politely and she told them that a ship had received their distress signal but once they had arrived at their location the only remains was cargo and bodies of Akuma. Allen asked where Cross had been heading as Anita stood up, his voice determined.

"The others may have died in the shipwreck, but not him." Anita stared at him for a while before she began to cry.

"Do… you think so?" She asked, her voice shaking and Allen nodded. Anita turned to the woman that had led them there. "Mahoja, prepare my ship, we're leaving shortly."

"Miss. Anita?" Lenalee questioned and Anita turned back to them. "For many years I have supported the Black Order in any way I could, from my mother's time up until now. If you're going to continue your search for Cross, allow us to be your guides." The Exorcists made no signs of objection so she continued.

"Our destination will be Japan, and the very city that Cross hoped to reach, the city of Edo."

"Edo, but…" Ava stopped herself and shook her head when the others but the Bookman turned to her questioningly. "It's nothing." They left the room but before Mahoja could leave to prepare the ship Ava stopped her.

"Miss. Mahoja." She turned towards her. "Do you know of any tattoo artists around here?" The woman nodded.

"I am one."

"Do you think you could give me one before we leave?" Mahoja contemplated it before she nodded. "Give me a few minutes to call the crew and I'll meet you downstairs."

"Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me." Ava smiled and then left to get something to eat but it only resulted in her falling face first on the floor, snoring softly. The Exorcists in front of her stared before sighing. Ava would always be Ava.

* * *

><p>"What do you want?" Mahoja asked as Ava lay down on the table. She took out her locket and opened it. She showed the contents to Mahoja.<p>

"I want this, but only one, on the right side. And I want it to be a faint red." Mahoja nodded and immediately began the procedure. This wouldn't take long.

Allen had just defeated the captain of the crew in arm wrestling when Mahoja came walking down with Anita. She challenged him herself and he accepted. Not even a minute after they had started Allen's eye activated and he lost his concentration, causing him to lose but the moment she had let go of his hand he turned around with his Innocence activated. Unfortunately the Akuma was fast and Allen kept missing. To protect Anita, Lenalee grabbed her and took off into the sky. Even if the Akuma was fast, she was faster. The beast jumped back closer to the ocean and lifted his hand, causing over ten level 1 Akuma to emerge from the blue depths. The level 2 leading them chuckled darkly.

"You won't be able to set sail today or any other day!" It yelled but suddenly a shadow landed on him so silently that the onlookers could swear they would never have noticed it if they didn't see it. She was illuminated from the explosion half of the level 1 Akuma in the sky caused when they died.

"What-?" The Akuma began but the figure cut him off.

"The sky is my domain, keep the fuck out of it." Ava said and leaped off the Akuma, landing in front of the others just as it fell apart and exploded.

"What's with you and dramatic entrances?" Lavi asked and she shrugged as the others finished off the rest. The captain shook hands with Allen, reassured by their display of strength and with strong hearts they boarded the ship to get it ready.

"Hey Ava! What's with the patch over your eye? You copying me or somethin'?" Lavi called when he noticed the patch and she grinned. "Only my second tattoo."

"When did you do that?"

"Right after we talked with Miss. Anita." She glanced to her left, where 'Daisya' stood. He didn't become more transparent and neither did he turn more solid. She guessed that was a good sign but once she went aboard the ship the ghost grinned and turned more transparent. Once they were on board the male Exorcists were made to help carrying the supplies on board, much to their annoyance. Once set, they set sail and Ava climbed to the very top to get a better view and to get away from doing any work. She saw that the others inspected Allen's arm so she leaped down and landed behind them as he tried to explain.

"Well, maybe it's because it's a Parasite type?"

"That's bullshit." Lavi glared.

"Certainly, that eye of your forces you to fight twice as much as any of us." Bookman deduced.

"Allen… your arm, it's very fragile isn't it?" Lenalee asked as her shoulders shook slightly.

"Allen made her cry!" Lavi exclaimed. "Yeah, he did." Bookman said. "Yes, it's his fault." Krory agreed. Ava sighed and put her arm around Lenalees shoulders, deciding that this time she would be on Allen's side, no matter how much she would like to torment him a bit.

"Lenalee, you've got to understand, we Parasite types are linked not only mentally but physically with our Innocence. It is part of our body, like an extra limb or organ. When the Innocence gets damaged, usually we do too, but it's also the other way around. With a lot of rest, it will be back to normal." Allen sighed in relief and mentally thanked the older Exorcist who nodded.

"For now, let's just try to enjoy the fresh sea air and the ride, alright? If we're lucky, we'll find General Cross right away and then be on our merry way back home. I bet Komui is crying his eyes out in worry right now." She joked and Lenalee giggled, knowing that it may very well be the truth. Allen climbed up to the crow's nest to keep an eye out just in case they were attacked. The five Exorcists on deck used the time to relax and enjoy the fresh air and nice scenery.

"There're Akuma in the horizon!" Allen's yell suddenly echoed over the ship, only a few minutes after they had set sail. Everyone ran to get ready and the sky turned dark.

"The fuck…?" Ava whispered as the clear blue sky was covered by a dark cloud, which she realized a second later, was actually Akuma.

"Innocence, activate!" All the Exorcists called out simultaneously. Ava shed her coat and took off into the air, attacking any Akuma that came near her along with Allen who covered for her on the ship with his canon but then she realized something. None of the Akuma attacked her _or _the ship. They actually passed by like they didn't notice them.

"As I thought!" Allen gasped and turned around, narrowly missing the Akuma that had snuck up on them. The rest of the crew and Exorcists noticed them too. "They're Exorcists. I knew I recognized those black cloaks somewhere. "

"You've got some sharp eyes there." Another Akuma praised the first. They then called out to the rest of the horde and several stopped noticing that there were both Exorcists and humans aboard the ship. This caused the rest of the horde that hadn't passed them by to stop too and circle around the ship. Ava, who was in the air, was ignored because she wasn't wearing her cloak and had wings so the Akuma mistook her for one of them for the moment. Not a good thing… for them that is.

"What do you think you're doing, IGNORING ME YOU SHITHEADS!" Ava yelled furiously and flew in a wide circle around the ship and also destroying a good portion of the Akuma before one took her by surprise and slammed into her, causing her to fall down into the ocean, sinking fast.

"AVA!" Lenalee cried out and was about to jump in after her but there was still a lot of Akuma and they were not letting her go after her comrade. They also threatened the crew they swore to protect so she had to get through them first. There were so many Akuma, they could close their eyes and flail around and _still _hit something. It was annoying and dangerous. After some time Lavi noticed that Ava still hadn't come up from the water. He ran to the side and checked but saw no one, not even bubbles.

"That idiot! Why hasn't she come up yet?" He yelled but had to jump back to avoid Akuma bullets. "Dammit!" He crushed it with his hammer.

'_Don't tell me you're drowning on purpose!' _He thought as worry crept over him. She tried to cover it up but her mind was still frail and her heart shattered after Daisya's death.

"Allen!" He glanced up and saw Allen being abducted by Akuma and Lenalee took off after them.

"Damn, this is not a good day." He growled but suddenly a water pillar shot up some ways from the ship and out from it an enraged Ava flew, whose beautiful wings had transformed into grotesque hands.

"She can actually fly with those things?" He called and Bookman replied.

"What does it look like, idiot apprentice!" She passed over them and landed on one Akuma, ripping it into pieces before jumping to the next repeating the motion.

"Wow, she's really savage when she's angry." Lavi shuddered; glad that it wasn't him she was venting her anger out on. The ship was starting to give out on itself, having so many holes and the sails were all torn up but no one had died yet. The Exorcists stood their ground and fought them off in valiant battle although they were starting to tire. They got rid of the last bit of Akuma before they turned towards the mountains were Lenalee and Allen most probably were.

"What's this feeling?" Lavi asked. "What's going on over there?"

"It gives me the creeps." Ava shuddered and rubbed her arms, although with giant hands sticking out of her back she really wasn't one to talk. Still, the aura that the mountains were giving off worried them. It was like nothing they had felt before and weren't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, the only thing they knew was that it was intimidating and their friends were there.

"Should I go see if I can find them?" Ava asked Bookman, seeking his wisdom since he was the oldest but he shook his head. "They can take care of themselves. What we have to focus on now is securing the ship and check on the wounded." She nodded though the unsettling feeling in her stomach didn't leave her. She really wanted to go check on them but at the very same time she was afraid of going there.

"Ava." She turned and saw Bookman stare at her. "Are you coming?"

"Ah, yeah, sorry." She apologized and followed him, helping him get the wounded down under deck so he could heal them. When everyone was down and had been tended to, Ava left to get some fresh air. She sat half-way out on the bowsprit and watched the stars. She smiled; she used to gaze at the stars with Daisya.

"There ya go again." Speak of the devil. She glanced over her shoulder and groaned before lighting a cigarette.

"You're not gone yet?"

"Aw, I thought you loved me." 'Daisya' put a hand over his heart and pouted but she only shook her head with a smile. "I did. I still do. But I'm gonna move on. You said so yourself when you died." 'Daisya' remained silent for a while.

"You're actually gonna do it?"

"I promised didn't I?"

"Ava, what are you doing?" She was so startled by Lavi's voice she almost fell off the bowsprit but she managed to grab it just in time.

"L-Lavi?!"

"Who were you talking to?" He asked as he looked around, seeing no one.

"No one, I was talking to myself." She said as she swung herself up and climbed off the bowsprit. "You can't just sneak up on people like that, especially not if they're sitting on something as narrow as a bowsprit!" He raised an eyebrow at her and she sighed before shaking her head.

"Aah, just forget it." She muttered roughly. "Are you alright?" He asked and she felt herself grow tired of that question.

"You've asked me that so many times already." She took a drag of her cigarette, finishing it and swore under her breath. She only had three left. She then ripped off the patch over her eye and felt the skin. It seemed to have healed nicely, ignoring the fact that she should have kept it on longer. She couldn't wait to see how it looked.

"Yeah, but I gotta ask when you're talking to yourself. That's not a good sign." Lavi pointed out and she groaned. "You didn't answer the question."

"I'm alright, okay?!" She whirled around. "I'm fine, I'm okay, I'm alright! I don't need you to snoop around and bring it up while I'm trying to get over it!" She lashed out all her pent up anger and he took a step back and she followed, poking him hard in the chest.

"I'm doing what I'm good at! Destroying Akuma and protecting humans! I do that for Daisya and Yeegar! Isn't that good enough? Do I have to be all sunny and smiley for you to be satisfied, huh? Well, here you fucking go!" She gave a big smile, although it was clear it was fake as her eyes burned with anger.

"Happy now? I'm smiling! I'm fine, I'm okay so let's just forget about all the shit that's happened and get on with our lives! That's what you want me to say right? Well, there you have it, I'm fine and I don't need you to worry about me! You've got your own worries, like Lenalee and Allen! They haven't returned yet so why don't we do something fucking useful and look-" She stopped and no more words came out of her mouth as Lavi's hands slid over her cheeks. She wanted him to be angry at her, she wanted him to yell at her to get herself together but he didn't. He didn't look worried either; he just seemed sad and tired.

"You say all that but tell me then; why are you crying?" He asked silently and her eyes widened when she felt her cheeks and realized that he was speaking the truth.

"I-I don't know what's- I don't-" He began wiping them away gently but more fell. She reached up herself and rubbed them but nothing could halt the river that flowed down her face. "I-I… I…" she stammered but couldn't form a coherent sentence as she pushed herself away from the redhead and took a few steps back but stumbled and fell down. He followed and kneeled in front of her and reached out but she slapped his hands away, her expression a mix of anger and confusion.

"Why are you being so damn nice?!" She yelled. "I treated you so horrible and you still insist on being nice? Can't you just yell at me? Get it over with!" She shut her eyes tightly and waited for him to lash out like she did but he didn't. Instead she was drawn into a warm and comfortable embrace.

"Because what you need right now is someone to care for you." Her eyes widened again and more tears escaped her. "Telling you to get over it won't help. What you need is for someone to be there for you. How you vented your anger out on me just now proves that no matter what you have told us earlier you're still keeping your emotions bottled up. In the end you lose it and vent it out on someone and I know that you ain't that kind of a person."

"Idiot… what do you gain from this?" She muttered.

"A good conscience." He joked and she smiled weakly.

"You're such a busy body… but I guess that's one of your… good qualities." Her voice grew fainter and she fell limp. Worried, he pushed her away to take a look at her but it seemed like she only fell asleep. He burst out laughing. That girl could fall asleep at the weirdest places at the most unusual times.

"Exor…cist." His eyes widened and he turned around and leaped just in time to avoid a wounded level 2 Akuma's attack. "Shit, there are still more of these things?" It came for him again but was felled by Krory who had heard the racket above. He was soon joined by Bookman and Lavi let them take care of the Akuma while he got the sleeping Ava to safety

* * *

><p>TWP: That's the fourteenth chapter. I hope you liked it. And if you wonder how she could sleep through the Akuma attack at the end there, it's because she a Parasite type. Like Allen and Krory eat a lot to regain their strength she sleeps a lot. Just so we're clear on that. I like to think of it as one of her flaws. That and her temper tantrums xD<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

TWP: Wow, it's a good number of chapters now. I didn't think I would go this far.

**Disclaimer: I do not own -Man.**

* * *

><p>Ava woke up late the next day. She sat up and stretched with a big yawn and took in her surroundings as she rubbed her eyes. She was on a ship that seemed to be in good condition. With that thought she laid down again and was about to fall asleep when she remembered one thing.<p>

They were on their way to Edo, Japan.

Their ship was attacked and left in a terrible state.

She had yelled at Lavi and then fallen asleep.

"Holy shit! What the hell is going on?!" She jumped out of bed and ran up on deck only to see the crew working as usual as if nothing had happened and the ship seemed to be okay too. She hurried to the captain's quarters and saw the others in there. Relief flooded through her when she saw Lenalee and surprise when she saw Miranda and that the others wore different uniforms from before but the mood in the room wasn't a good one. She looked around but couldn't see Allen.

"What's going on? Where's Allen?" She asked with a nervous smile, just waiting for him to come in and reassure her that everything was alright now but when she mentioned his name Lenalee's eyes filled with tears. "Lavi? Lenalee? What happened?"

"Allen… is gone…" The world came crashing down on Ava and she staggered back, leaning against the wall.

"Are you sure?" She asked and Timcanpy flew over to her, showing the recording he made. Her eyes widened in surprise only to be replaced by pure fury when she saw Tyki Mikk, the Noah who had killed Yeegar, Daisya, Suman, and then destroying Allen's innocence.

"We didn't find a body but we know he's dead. All we found was blood." Lavi said silently.

"You're making a hasty conclusion Lavi." She said calmly as Timcanpy flew in a circle over them.

"What do you mean?"

"If you didn't find a body then we can't be sure that he's gone!" She said and Lavi let his hands glide through his red locks. "Look, I understand that you don't want to believe it but-"

"No, you don't understand! Don't go around claiming that people are dead if you can't find their bodies!" Ava argued with him. "That man, that fucking Noah, likes to make things flashy! If you didn't find Allen that means he could have escaped!"

"How can you know that? He was badly hurt, his Innocence is destroyed!" Lavi raised his voice. He wanted to believe that Allen was alive too, but Ava only came with baseless conclusions now. Allen couldn't be anything other than dead, and if she continued to speak like this they would gain false hope that would only be crushed in the end and the way Lenalee was now, and it wasn't something she needed now.

"Because that man is the Noah that killed General Yeegar and Daisya!" She screamed back and their eyes widened. "Believe what you want, but I refuse to accept that the fucker killed Allen too!" She said and stormed out of the room, leaving a seething Lavi, a speechless Krory and a silent Lenalee. Ava was seething with fury herself as she stalked down under deck, pacing around in a circle.

"He's not dead, I can feel it! Allen is too good for that. There's no way that Noah could have killed him!" She growled.

"Ava?"

"What?" She whirled around with a snarl and Miranda jumped back in fright.

"I-I'm sorry, forgive me!" She bowed and the fury disappeared as fast as it had come and Ava softened her voice and eyes.

"No, it's my fault. You don't have to apologize." She said and Miranda looked up, holding a bundle and giving it to the younger girl.

"T-this is the latest uniform. They're stronger, lighter and easier to move in. The Science Dept. said that this was the only thing they could do to protect us. They've worked really hard to make this." Ava took it with a nod.

"There's plenty more they can do to help us, they just have to realize it." She said with a smile and thanked the older woman, telling her she could go back to the others now. She would follow as soon as she had dressed. Her new uniform hadn't changed much from its original design, she noted.

Instead of pants she wore tight shorts reaching her mid-thighs, where the inside of her thighs were white and the outside black, ankle height black combat boots, a white and black strapless top that left her back and parts of her chest bare as usual and the same coat that she had before although it was sleeveless and the Science Dept. had added black finger less combat gloves instead of sleeves.

"Hm, sometimes I wonder about them, being so good with designs and all." She chuckled to herself and went up again to join the rest of the group again but before she reached the door the sound of glass being broken could be heard. She rushed in and watched Lavi seethe in anger.

"We were fighting for our lives last night! There was no way we could've saved him. It's a war! It can't be helped so give up and stand!" He yelled the last part and tears gathered in Lenalee's lifeless eyes again before they fell down her cheeks. A dark aura came from Bookman, Krory and Miranda.

"You made her cry." The sound of skin being slashed was heard before the sound of droplets falling to the ground could be heard also. Everyone turned to the door and watched with wide eyes as Ava held up her arm and inspected the wound on her arm, holding a small knife in her other.

"Lenalee… I'm bleeding." She said silently and the girl's head shot up, her eyes having a bit of life in them now though they were filled with only worry. "I could die from blood loss from this wound. What are you going to do?" The girl ripped a part of her dress and tried to wrap it around the older girl's wound but Ava kept her arm out of reach, making her bleed more.

"Ava, what are you doing? Let me help!" Lenalee demanded but Ava pushed her away. "No."

"Why not?!"

"I can't trust a person who's acting like I did back then." Lenalee's eyes widened in shock as the girl in front of her stared at her coldly. "I can't trust someone who gives up and wallow in self-pity. I_won't_trust someone who would defile the memory of those who gave their lives for our cause. You understand what I'm saying?" The words were harsh and said without a hint of mercy but they were also true.

"Ava, you're going too far-" Krory began and grabbed her arm together with Miranda but she shot her cousin and the woman a glare that gave them the chills and he shut up. "You don't give me any other choice but to die, Lenalee." The green-haired girl shook her head.

"Let me tie up your wound! You're being cruel, Ava!" Ava grabbed the girl's collar and hoisted her up to her eye-level. "I'm being cruel?"

"Ava!" Krory reacted this time but Ava's Innocence activated and held him back.

"You're the one being cruel, Lenalee!" Violet eyes met amber ones and Lenalee noticed the new tattoo under Ava's right eye, causing her own to widen. "You're the one who stubbornly won't wake up! You're the one who stubbornly thinks it's your right to defile the memory of those we lost! You're becoming a splitting image of how I was but you refused to let me grieve alone! You all forced me rely on you and now you're the one who decided to stay all alone! You're not the only one who misses Allen, I do too! The one thing that's different between us is that I don't believe that Allen is dead! I believe _in _Allen! I believe that he will return to us!" From the corner of her eyes, she could see Bookman whispering to Lavi, whose eyes widened more and more before turning somber, like he had remembered or realized something.

"Continue like this and we'll all die, because we can't win without you." Ava let go of Lenalee who fell on the ground and began to cry. Miranda immediately knelt beside the girl and hugged her as Ava left the room. Once outside, Anita and Mahoja asked what was wrong.

"We could hear yelling." Anita said.

"I'm sorry about that. It's just that we don't agree on some matters. And by the way Mahoja, thanks for the tattoo. It's perfect." She held her thumbs up and the giant woman smiled with a nod. Inside the room where the Exorcists still stood, Bookman also said that he, like Ava, didn't believe that Allen, who was prophesied to be the "Destroyer of Time", could have died just yet. He thought that 'Time' in "Destroyer of Time" meant the Millennium Earl, ergo, Allen, in Bookman's eyes, was the only one who could destroy the Earl. This gave the others in the room a bit of hope too and they started to believe, just like Ava, that Allen may still be alive.

"You don't think you were a bit too harsh on her?" Ava turned her eyes from the stars to the redhead that walked up to her. "You think so?" He shrugged.

"Lenalee is a tough girl, but she's lost a lot of comrades lately."

"So have I." He looked down at the water, realizing that she had lost just as much as them, if not more. There was an awkward silence before they both spoke up.

"I'm sorry-"

"Are you-" They looked at each other before chuckling.

"You first." She said and he pointed at her arm. "How is it?" She held it up and he saw that it was healed. "Miranda's Recovery works perfectly." She said with a grin.

"I remember when she first came to the Order. She was so shy and had no confidence in herself. Look at her now, look at the power she wields." She gestured to the whole ship. "Thanks to her we were able to leave at once." He nodded.

"Yeah, she really is something. And to think she's capable to keep up the invocation for days without rest."

"I did that once too." Ava smiled as memories came back. "And had it not been for Yeegar and Daisya I wouldn't be standing here today. It's dangerous to force the Innocence to stay activated for long. Let's hope she won't feel too much of a strain." He nodded now too, glancing at her and there was a silence before she broke it with a sigh, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Lavi, about yesterday, I'm sorry. Without realizing it I went and kept everything to myself again and I let it all out on you. You didn't deserve that." She said and rubbed the back of her head, not looking at him at all as a blush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks.

"And I'm sorry about how I acted towards Lenalee too. I… I just felt so angry when I saw how she acted. I saw myself and was enraged at myself for allowing me to be put out of the game and cause trouble for you guys. I didn't want her to do the same mistake as I did." She turned around and put her back and elbows on the railing and stared at 'Daisya' who was neither smiling nor frowning. His face was emotionless. She didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

"It's her we should be apologizing to. We both let out some anger at her for the way she acted. She didn't deserve that. Lenalee is a tough girl but when it comes to losing people she thinks she could have saved it's hard for her to keep up the facade."

"I know what you mean." Ava said. They stayed silent for a while and she stared at 'Daisya' until she reached a decision. "Lavi, can I confide in you?" The redhead turned towards her in surprise.

"You're actually gonna tell me something?" She didn't laugh at the joke.

"Back when I found Daisya at the mercy of that Noah… I hesitated." Lavi's eyes widened and he straightened up as he took in the seriousness in her voice. "When I found them, I was about to attack but… that man, he asked if I was going to lose control of my Innocence if I fought him and that caught me off guard and questions whirled through my head. If I lost control, even if I managed to defeat him, would I then kill Daisya myself? Would I lose my heart completely and then go around killing innocent humans?" She furrowed her brows and bit her lip.

"I wasn't sure if I could return to normal if that happened… I was afraid I would become a mindless killing machine, no better than the Akuma. It caused me to hesitate and I didn't dare fight with all my power. Lavi, do you think that if I fought with all my heart, I would have been able to save Daisya?" she turned to him and he thought about it for a moment.

"I don't think you could have. Daisya was already pretty torn up right? If you had fought with your full power, I think the only thing you would have accomplished would have been dragging it out until one of you collapsed."

"But Marie and Kanda were just moments too late! If I could have kept it up, we could have regrouped and fought him together!"

"Yeah, but while that may be true, that Noah had the power to pass through objects_and_humans. It could have resulted in you all dying." Lavi pointed out and Ava sighed.

"You're right. I should be thankful for being alive. That Noah… he respected Daisya's last request."

"What was that?" Lavi asked and she smiled sadly. "That he would let me live, and so he did." Lavi's eyes widened and she gave a soft, bitter snort.

"He could have begged for his own life. His Innocence was broken, he was no threat any longer, but he thought only of me." She looked up and gasped as she saw 'Dasiya' turn more transparent than before.

"You're doing well." She heard him, his voice soft but now at least, he was smiling.

"Something wrong?" Lavi asked but she shook her head. "No… I think things are finally looking good." She said with an honest grin and he couldn't help but grin back.

"So, about that tattoo. For Daisya?" He asked and she nodded, tracing it.

"Yeah. I liked those marks on his face, really. Does it suit me?"

"Doesn't look bad." Lavi shrugged and she raised an eyebrow. "Which means?"

"Alright, alright, it looks good, okay?" He laughed and she slapped his arm before turning around again. "You know, it's truly a beautiful night, tonight, ne?" Lavi nodded and they stood in another comfortable silence until Ava's curiosity could take no more.

"Lavi?"

"Yeah?"

"When I lectured Lenalee, what did Bookman say to you?" She asked and Lavi stiffened visibly before he eased up again. "Nothing important." He said and she stared at him before sighing.

"He told you not to get attached, right?" He turned so sharply she was afraid he would snap his own neck and stared at her with one wide eye but she was already facing the ocean again. "It's pretty obvious, really."

"H-how did you?"

"You're the successor to Bookman. A Bookman needs no heart, right?" He turned away again before resting his head on the railing along with his arms. "Yeah." Even though he had answered, he wondered how she knew. Ava noticed how his mood fell and she mentally kicked herself and slowly put her arm around his shoulders.

"Hey, even if that's the rule, there's no way anyone can follow through on it. I bet Bookman's got a heart but he hides it. I can tell he obviously cares a great deal for you."

"I'm his heir."

"And also like a grandson to him, right?" Lavi nodded. "I don't think he means for you to throw away your heart fully. I think he wants you to put it aside just enough not to distract you from your duties as his successor. You're human Lavi; it would be abnormal if you didn't feel. This is what makes us different from Akuma. We _feel_." Lavi glanced at her before nodding slowly. She grinned and turned around again, to take a look at Daisya but instead she saw something else. Something she did_not_like.

"Look out!" Lavi didn't have time to register what was going on before she pushed him down. All he knew was that he felt a warm liquid fall down on him. He realized what it was and stared in horror at Ava, who gritted her teeth, as blood dripped from her head.

"You okay?" He nodded slowly and she smiled in relief before crying out as she was lifted up from him. "Ava!" He froze as he saw the Akuma hold her up by her hair.

"L-let go!" She held onto her thin braid for dear life so it wouldn't hurt as much but he shook her and she lost her grip. "You heard the lady!" Lavi activated his hammer but the Akuma threw her at him and both landed on the deck with a thud before the Akuma attacked them, and they were defenseless. Explosions happened all over the ship and the main mast broke. The two lost consciousness for a moment as the mast fell and the sails covered them. But only for a moment.

"Title: The Corpses of Two Exorcists." The seal of fire appeared before the Akuma. "Hammer of Flames, Detonate!" Lavi shouted and the fire engulfed the Akuma, or so they thought.

"Dammit, what a pointless injury!" Lavi cursed as Miranda's Recovery healed him. "You alright Ava?" Said girl sat up, rubbing her head looking furious as Recovery healed her too, although she hadn't taken much of a beating compared to him, since she had activated her Innocence to cover them.

"Yeah, but that fucker is going down!" She growled, ripped off her torn cloak but once the smoke had cleared they could see that the Akuma was indeed hit by Lavi's hammer but it seemed to be ineffective.

"Title: Why Did You Recover?"

"The hell? Wasn't it a direct hit?" Ava whispered and by the look on Lavi's face she knew he was thinking the same thing. The redhead began pushing the hammer more, trying to force it to defeat the Akuma but it didn't work.

"Dammit, why didn't it work?!" The Akuma just snorted and pushed the hammer away from itself slowly and then Lavi realized it. This was a level 3! The hammer was finally pushed away by a strong force and Lavi was sent flying into the sails that had recovered and the level 3 charged after him.

"Title: Escape Sealed!" Before he could kill Lavi, Bookman appeared and used his Innocence, Heaven Compass, to seal the movements of the monster. Ava had also come to the rescue and the grotesque hands created a solid wall between Lavi and the Akuma although it was clear that her Innocence would have taken a beating if he had hit. The needles from Heaven Compass prickled them but it didn't hurt at all, they were both Innocence after all.

"Elder, kill him!" Ava yelled but the warning came too late. The level 3 broke out from the needles and grabbed Bookman, taking him high up into the air.

"Gramps!" Lavi yelled but Ava was already one step ahead of him, having already foreseen this happen. She took off, trying to catch up with the Akuma but they disappeared behind the clouds. Then there was a bright light and the moment she entered the clouds Bookman fell into her arms.

"Bookman! Are you alright?"

"He's… not alone." The old man managed to get out and there was another bright light. Ava turned them around, fully aware that Bookman wouldn't be able to survive another attack and took the full force. Everything turned silent. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak and she definitively couldn't control her Innocence. The only thing she could do was watch with lidded eyes as she and Bookman fell towards the ocean. Luckily for the both of them, Lavi had been too worried about Bookman to stay on the ship and met them halfway, though it was hard for him to catch them both. Ava rested over his right knee while the old man was caught in his left arm.

"Gramps! Gramps! Ava!" He yelled but none of them reacted. Ava lost her consciousness but Bookman managed to cling to his. Suddenly purple lights shot down around them, almost hitting Lavi and the two wounded Exorcists but Lavi managed to avoid them by swaying left and right.

On the ship the others were getting restless and Lenalee activated her Innocence and took off too, leaving the rest to worry about their comrades that were already in the sky. The ship had taken another heavy beating by the rain of bullets that had come from the sky and they were worried that they had been caught up in it. Lenalee ran up the handle of the hammer and passed by Lavi, ordering him to get back to the ship. He was hurt too, and he was steadily getting out of the reach of Miranda's Innocence.

"Stop, Lenalee!" Lavi called after her. "Don't! He's different from other Akuma! He's a level 3!" But Lenalee ignored his warnings and before he could do anything his wounds returned to him, causing his grip on his hammer to weaken, thus risking not only his own welfare but also the ones he held. He couldn't stay up anymore. He's wounds wouldn't allow him to. Blood ran down from his scalp and down to his chin, dripping on Ava.

'_The cuts have returned to my body. Is it because I'm too far from the ship? Shit!"_Ava suddenly fell from her perch on his leg and he gasped, having no arm free to reach for her but it wasn't needed. She transformed into her angel form and raced off after Lenalee, who was already facing the Akuma.

"Return to the ship Lavi and tell them to go on without us! Your wounds are worse than mine!" Though the teen wasn't completely convinced of her statement he had to get Bookman down on the ship again to heal his wounds. He could only trust that they would both be safe.

"Title: You're Next." Before the Akuma or Lenalee could charge though, Ava appeared and managed to scratch the level 3 on his stomach, but that was all she managed before the Akuma dodged.

"Title: You Are Fast." The Akuma praised, but both girls knew that would not be enough for this one. Lenalee may have both power and speed through her Black Boots but through Angel, Ava only had speed. She used her speed to gain enough power to cut through the Akuma with her razor sharp arms. She wasn't useless without the speed advantage but it was hard just cutting through a level 2 without speed, so a level 3 would be even harder and to add to the number of disadvantages she was already wounded, while the Akuma was completely fine. She heard screams and glanced down, seeing the ship being attacked. Her eyes narrowed in confusion until she remembered what Bookman had told her. The Akuma wasn't alone. She turned around and tried to locate the others but she saw none. The only thing she saw was the bullets raining down.

"Lenalee! This one, he ain't alone! There are more around here!" Ava called and narrowly ducked the Akuma's attack and Lenalee called back.

"I can deal with this, you stop the others! We can't let them destroy the ship!" Ava nodded herself and turned, ready to blast off when she heard a snap.

"AAAARGH!" Pain coursed through her and she screamed as she clawed at her left shoulder. The Akuma was now holding her broken wing; he had snapped it like a twig and the gravity forcing her towards the earth caused the pain to intensify.

"Title: Fall Into Darkness." The Akuma said and chains appeared around her body, restricting her movements. "W-what's this?" She felt heavier, causing more pain from her wing and the Akuma grinned.

"Sayonara." And he let go. Her eyes widened as she fell down and Lenalee screamed, charging after her but the Akuma got in the way and punched her, sending her upwards again.

"Lenalee!" Ava reached out but the girl couldn't reach her because the Akuma kept her away from her. "LENALEE!" Soon, she was unable to see them and she turned around, hoping to catch sight of the ship and call out to her fellow Exorcists but she remembered when she couldn't see it, that she had told Lavi to get them out of there. She watched in horror as the dark sea came closer and closer to her, no, she was the one falling closer to it. She tried to use her right wing to slow the fall. Even if her left was broken she could at least try to keep herself up for some time more so Lenalee could help her if she managed to get away from the Akuma. To her horror she realized that the chains were restricting her wings. She couldn't spread her them, much less keep herself in the air. She tried grabbing the chains to remove them forcefully but the only thing that resulted in was her getting shocked by electricity. These chains were obviously made of Dark Matter and not meant to be removed unless the caster allowed it. She took a deep breath and was engulfed in the dark sea water as she fought to remove the chains again.

Down on the ship Bookman and the others had heard Ava's scream of pain though they couldn't recognize whose voice it was. They just hoped that it had been an Akuma who had died or been wounded. Since neither Lenalee nor Ava came falling down they pushed the thought of them being hurt away and continued to try to save the ship that was rapidly sinking.

'_Can't… breathe!'_Ava thought as despair began to flood her body and mind. Her limbs grew weaker from the lack of air. Her vision blurred and her head began to throb.

'_Is this how it's going to end? Fucking bastard… killing me off like this… it's pathetic.'_Her thoughts began to swirl and she couldn't keep track of them. Her lungs were empty, they burned, her throat constricted and she automatically opened her mouth to breathe in air but the only thing she did was swallowing sea water. Her throat hurt as the salty water forced itself down and her vision darkened.

'_I don't… I don't want this!'_She thought and desperately tried to swim back up but she couldn't move at all.

'_Help me! Anyone… Arystar… I don't wanna die…'_Her vision turned black and she ceased her struggling. Ava Krory had been consumed by the dark depths of the ocean.

* * *

><p>TWP: That's all folks. I hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as I loved writing it. The rest you know from the manga and anime (mostly the manga though).<p>

….

OF COURSE I WAS JOKING! I'm not finished yet. We have to take a look at how the others react to these news first of course! And I have to make Allen jump into the series again too.

By the way, please leave a review, I'm practically begging you guys. Even though I've written up to chapter 30 it's still a bit depressing that there's so few reviews. It gives me no motivation to publish the other chapters, rather it makes me want to delete it.


	16. Chapter 16

TWP: I'm sorry for the sucky ending in the last chapter. Let's hope I can make up for it now.

**Disclaimer: I don't own D . Gray - Man.**

* * *

><p>"Will Ava and Lenalee be alright by themselves?" Krory asked as he hid under Lavi's giant hammer, avoiding the attacking Akuma's bullets . He turned to Lavi who stayed silent. "Lavi?" He saw the boy tighten his grip on the handle and he sighed.<p>

"For now, all we can do is trust them. They told us to protect the ship. If we can't do that much," The boy glanced at his elder over his shoulder, "-then they won't have a place to return to afterwards." He smiled when Krory flapped his cape and gave him thumbs up before leaping into the air and into the bullet rain.

* * *

><p>As she was being pulled towards the depths of the ocean, Ava's wing snapped back into its original shape before it had been broken by the level 3 Akuma, then it deactivated and retreated inside her body. She sunk faster now when the Innocence wasn't out to fight the chains of Dark Matter anymore. Then, a green light grew on her back and it consumed her body completely. The chains were forced out and were now in a wide circle around her, not restricting her movements anymore but still they caused her to sink faster and faster into the dark depths of the ocean. Suddenly they fell off and she slowly began to rise up towards the surface. Inside the green ball, Ava rested unconscious, the wounds on her body slowly healing themselves. The Innocence had decided that it wouldn't sink to the bottom of the ocean, even if it that had meant it would have stayed safe from the Millennium Earl. If the Heart was destroyed, then it would die anyway. There was no use in hiding from the enemy.<p>

Lavi had left the ship to find Lenalee and Ava, but had only come upon an Akuma that claimed to have been modified by General Cross. He was also carrying a huge crystal with Lenalee trapped within it and for the sake of Lenalee, he had grudgingly agreed to take them back to the ship but not before he knew where the other Exorcist was. Ava would never have left Lenalee alone in such a state, least of all with an Akuma, modified by General Cross or not.

"Where's Ava?" He asked before they left and the Akuma stared at him quizzically. "Who, cho?" Lavi felt dread spread through him when he realized that the Akuma was not playing games with him.

"The girl who was with Lenalee!" He growled but the Akuma shook his head.

"I only found this one, cho. The one you speak of was nowhere in sight, cho." Lavi's eye widened as he remembered the scream of pain from earlier. He hid his eye with his hand and gritted his teeth. It had been Ava. It had been Ava who had screamed! The reason as to why they hadn't seen her fall was because they had managed to move the ship away before it began to sink. They had been too busy with trying to guard against the attack to notice anything else. If she had fallen, if she had died, then her body would probably be on the bottom of the ocean by now. There was no way a human body could survive the pressure down there. And the worst part was that they wouldn't be able to find her body. She would be forever lost at sea.

"Shit… shit, shit, shit!" He cursed silently, angry at Lenalee, angry at Krory, angry at Bookman but most of all, furious with himself for not paying more attention. "Not Ava too…" He looked up again and motioned for the Akuma to follow him with Lenalee. The Akuma nodded and did as ordered but halfway back a spot in the ocean began to glow green. Lavi stopped and so did the Akuma. He readied himself for an attack but was shocked at what he saw.

Coming up from the water was a glowing, light green egg and the person inside…

"Ava!" He hurried over to the egg and carefully put a hand against it. It was warm to the touch but did him no harm. Inside, Ava was half-way curled up in a ball, while her hands held onto her shoulders, her arms crossing each other over her chest. The relief he felt melted away as he briefly pondered how to get her back to the ship. The Akuma was having his hands full by just carrying Lenalee and Lavi himself wouldn't be able to carry it without falling off the hammer. He tried pushing it and noticed that it easily moved in the way he pushed it but did neither descend nor ascend in height above the surface of the water. Positioning it in front of himself, he sped back to the ship. He may not know anything about what was happening but the old man might.

The crew, Exorcists and Bookman were equally surprised when Lavi came back with a crystallized Lenalee and Ava. Lavi had hoped his sort-of adopted grandfather knew something but the old man didn't.

"An Equip type Innocence acting on its own is unheard of! It's rare with Parasite types too but it has happened. Though I don't understand how this can protect her." Bookman put a hand against the egg before knocking. It was hard as steel so he took back his previous statement.

"But how are we going to turn them back to normal?" Lavi asked and Bookman shook his head. "I don't know, Lavi. Even if there have been cases with Parasite types I don't know how they turned them back."

"This means we have to wait and see what happens, right?" Miranda asked and Bookman nodded as Krory went up to the egg and touched it too. _'Ava… are you alright?' _He thought but then a voice echoed through his head.

"_Why ask?" _He stumbled back in shock. "I think she just spoke!" He exclaimed though the voice hadn't sounded quite like Ava and now that he thought about it, how had she heard his question? She had neither moved nor spoken inside the egg, as well as not having reacted when the others spoke. Before the others could ponder on it though, they were interrupted.

"Lenalee! Ava!" Anita cried out and ran forward but once she closed in on Lenalee she froze. Her head began to throb with unbelievable pain as noise, no a song, filled her mind and she fell sideways, in front of Ava. She panicked when she found she couldn't breathe.

"Stay back! Only Exorcists can come close to the Innocence! The force of it will hurt you." Bookman called and his eyes widened when he went to help Anita and got a look at Ava, whose eyes had opened. But instead of amber, he was greeted by glowing eyes, the same color as the Innocence embracing her. And those eyes were staring at Anita, wide open. He pulled the young woman away and the girl's eyes slowly closed again. It unsettled him. She had almost seemed… hungry.

"What I am wondering about is why didn't other Equip type Innocence do the same when others died in the war?"

"Like Daisya and General Yeegar?" Lavi asked and Bookman nodded.

'_Is it because it is Lenalee's? Or is this perhaps an important historical event?' _He thought. He glanced at Ava. _'In that case, then this is also an important event. Two different types of Innocence protecting two accommodators at the same time… this has never happened before. Could this mean that one of them is the Heart? If so, which one is it? No, Ava's Innocence has protected her before, at that time when General Yeegar was attacked.' _Bookman gritted his teeth. He didn't know what to make of this and it unsettled him. This could be one of the most important historical events he had ever heard of or experienced and he didn't know what to do.

"Maybe one of them is the Heart, huh?" The Akuma that had carried Lenalee pondered as he hovered behind Lavi. "Then it would most probably be that short haired girls, since it's an Equip type." Lavi grew annoyed and whacked him with his hammer. The Akuma squealed before he ranted angrily.

"What the hell's wrong with you, cho? I already said I'm on your side, cho!"

"Like I'm supposed to believe that!" Lavi yelled back but Bookman told them both to shut up. "Cross Marian is the only human in the world who can modify Akuma." The Akuma gloated behind Lavi, who just wanted to whack its head off. Then he demanded to be thanked for keeping the ship from sinking when they were attacked by the Akuma in the sky.

"Come on, say it, cho! Thank me, cho!"

"No way!" Lavi said but the Akuma glowered at him and he bowed his head. "Th-thank you very much." When Bookman asked if a level 2 would get more power after being modified the Akuma said that there was no way a level 2 could do anything about a level 3. He pointed at Lenalee.

"This time you have to thank her for surviving, cho." The others stared at Lenalee again before the Akuma called for their attention. He had a message from General Cross and it was quite short and getting straight to the point. Either be of help or get lost. A simple message but it was truthful. Japan was the center of the Earl's production of Akuma. There was almost nothing _but _Akuma in that nation. The General's mission was to destroy the Akuma factory in Japan. Only one thought passed through the Exorcists minds.

'_The General is actually doing his work?' _It may have been a thought that made the crew around them wonder how they treated their superiors but it was only those who knew of Cross, whether personally or not, who could make such a statement.

As the level 2 continued to explain the situation, no one noticed that Lenalee had begun to move inside the crystal until it was engulfed in a bright light that shot up high into the sky and once it died out, Lenalee, with weird markings on her legs, fell to the ground. Immediately Lavi and Miranda ran over to the girl and picked her up.

"Lenalee! Are you alright?" The girl opened her eyes and stared at the two of them as tears poured down her face.

"Lavi. Am I… am I really still part of this world?" Lavi's own eye widened as tears ran down his cheeks too, and he hugged her. "You crazy kid."

'_If we enter Japan, will there be more suffering like this waiting for us?' _Bookman thought as he watched. As detached as he was, watching young and, or, innocent people get hurt and die was still saddening.

"_Why do you care?" _His head snapped up and he looked around, trying to identify the one who talked to him. The voice had been young and innocent, holding no malice at all, it had sounded like girl child. _"You're a Bookman, why do you care?" _He turned towards Ava and gasped as he saw her glowing eyes directed at him.

"_You can read my thoughts?" _He narrowed his eyes. "_We are nothing but a living substance… We are part of everything in this world… We are a Parasite Innocence that invades our accommodator's bodies…" _His eyes widened again.

"Everyone, stay away from Ava!" The others looked up at him, then at Ava and gasped too. "She's awake!" Miranda cried out happily but Bookman got in front of them and forced them back.

"Do as I say, now!" The eyes followed his every move and it unnerved him.

"Ava? Oh Ava, I'm so sorry!" Lenalee cried out and tried to get up on her feet but it only resulted in her falling down on her stomach. She glanced at her legs, not being able to move them.

"Lenalee, are you alright?" Miranda asked and the girl nodded before turning back to Ava who still stared at Bookman. "_You think us… a threat?"_

"You're not giving me many options." Bookman spoke out loud- It was either the real Ava or the other Ava who was speaking, and if it indeed was the other Ava, the one who had surfaced when General Yeegar fell, Bookman knew they had to be cautious. "What the… Am I the only one hearing a voice in my head?" Lavi asked as he held his head in wonder. The other Exorcists shook their heads, also looking at the girl in wonder.

"_You once thought of us as a great ally of humanity… no, not us…" _Bookman stared at her in confusion, his eyes narrowing more. "_You once knew us… as the Innocence Feather…" _Bookman's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Impossible… that's over forty years ago!" _'And that Innocence… I'm sure it was destroyed!'_

"Gramps, what's she talking about? What are you talking about Ava?" Lavi turned to Ava when he realized that Bookman wouldn't answer him. The girl glanced at him.

"_Ava? No… We are the Innocence you… call Angel…" _Bookman held his arm out in front of Lavi, motioning him to be quiet and to stay back and let him do the talking. "What happened to Ava?"

"_She's sleeping… dreaming… wishing… praying… forgiving us for taking her life… forgiving us for killing…" _She turned her face down to the ground and Bookman growled. "Answer me!" Her head snapped up, eyes wide, and it was terrifying to look at, as the partly visible tattoo on her back began to glow too as well as the tattoo around her right eye.

"_We're growing… turning into one at last…we're finding our real form… the real us… like any other Innocence wishes to do with their accommodator… We're not a threat!" _Only Bookman heard this last reply before her body convulsed and she curled completely into a ball.

"Gramps, what's happening?!" Lavi asked as he and the rest were pushed away from Ava by Bookman yet again. Something was happening, and it may not bode well for them. Bulges appeared on her back, it looked like something was striving to get out of her body. It was almost sickening to watch but no one could look away. Suddenly, wings burst through her back and the egg began to grow but so did the wings and suddenly the egg cracked. Bright, green light blinded them and they took a few steps back as they covered their eyes just as the egg shattered, sending pieces flying everywhere. Once it died down, they could see the form of her Innocence.

Her wings, still white and angel-like, were smaller now, just a bit bigger than her own body. They had tribal markings on them, the same design as the tattoo on her back. Her arms and legs didn't glow a faint green anymore, enhanced by Innocence but instead curved scythe blades protruded from them, gleaming threateningly as the sun rays hit them.

"_We are one… Human and Innocence… We are not weapons… We are not just a piece of history… that you can put as ink on paper… no one are… We are living beings too…" _She spoke out loud now before her eyes stopped glowing and amber eyes stared at the empty space before light slowly returned.

Ava stared at her hands, and then the wings on her back as she did the blades and then, her legs gave out on her. Krory ran over and caught her just in time as her Innocence deactivated. She stared at him wide eyed before grabbing her throat and then letting go, striving to get air back in her lungs. What had she gone through before she lost consciousness, the others wondered.

"A-Arystar…" She whispered, her throat sore from all the sea water she had swallowed. "Tell me I'm alive… don't tell me that you've all died as well." Tears gathered in her eyes as he smiled at her. "We're all alive, cousin. We've made it through the night." She smiled before burying her face in his cape.

"I'm so glad!" She hiccupped and the mood on board turned light and happy again. Lenalee crawled over to Ava, embracing her as she apologized over and over again.

"I'm so sorry. I couldn't help you! Please forgive me, I couldn't help you." She cried and Ava cried just as much. "It's alright, it's alright! We're both safe! We're both alive, I forgive you!" The others smiled in relief that they were both alright and all of the Exorcists huddled together but Bookman wondered now, who really was the Heart. Was it Ava's Innocence, since it had actually spoken to them, or was it Lenalees' Innocence, that despite being an Equipment type, acted on its own? Whatever the case, when he had told Lavi earlier that Ava's Innocence was of no importance to them, he had been dead wrong. Her Innocence was very important now, it seemed like it had developed a consciousness and that was something worth recording that the Order needed to know. Now it was even more important to get to land.

"Hey Lavi." Ava suddenly asked, her voice low and still raspy, and the red-head looked at her. "What's with the bite marks?" she asked and he sent a glare at Krory, who whistled innocently.

* * *

><p>TWP: The plot thickens! I think… yeah, it does xD Yes Lavi, what did you and Krory-kins do, hm?<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

TWP: Chapter seventeen! Oh shit, we're that far already?!

**Disclaimer: I don't own DGM.**

* * *

><p>Lavi opened the window in the room on the ship the Exorcists were using and stared, amazed at how fast they were going.<p>

"If you keep this pace up, won't you run out of energy, Chomesuke?" He called to the Akuma who was pushing the ship as fast as it could.

"Chomsuke?" The Akuma looked up and Ava stuck her head out. "Lavi's got a habit of nicknaming his friends." She grinned and it almost seemed like the Akuma blushed.

"There's no time, cho! We have to get as close to Edo as possible, cho." The Akuma said and sped up. Ava and Lavi turned to Lenalee when she spoke up and saw that Miranda was on the verge of fainting. Her breathing was heavy and she had a cool cloth over her face to help her feel better.

"Time Recovery did a lot of work under the attack. She's probably all out of strength."

"Are you alright, Miranda? I'm sorry I couldn't protect the ship better." Lavi apologized as he went back in. Ava closed the window and went over to them too, apologizing for not being able to take out the Akuma in the sky before the level 3 had defeated her. Miranda shook her head though and began to cry as she apologized because she knew that she wouldn't be able to hold the invocation until they got to Edo. She really was completely out of strength.

"Don't worry about it." Lavi said but Miranda shook her head and said that she wasn't apologizing for the ship.

"She's apologizing because once she deactivates her Innocence, everything will return to real time." Ava said silently and Lenalee gasped as she realized what they were talking about. She hugged the older woman and told her to not bear the burden alone.

"You're not the only Exorcist here. We all bear the burden." Lavi straightened up and Ava put her hand on his shoulder.

"Even you." She said in such a low voice that only he could hear her. "No matter what Bookman tells you."

Not even an hour later, they were called up on deck. Mahoja, Anita and three men from her crew were waiting for them with a boat ready.

"This is everyone…?" Ava said as it dawned upon her what was going on. "There's no one else?" Anita smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry. I told them they didn't need to see you go. They're currently having a feast below and I wanted them to spend their last moments enjoying themselves." The Exorcists looked down in sadness. Although there had been six of them, they couldn't save more than five lives. Anita comforted Miranda who was crying and blaming herself again and right after the voices of the crew could be heard all over deck.

"Exorcists! Protect our friends that survived!"

"We want them to live!"

"Even if it's just a little bit of peace, we want them to have it! PLEASE WIN, EXORCISTS" Ava smirked.

"A really brave and selfless crew you have here, Miss Anita." The woman nodded happily with a tiny smile as Chomesuke grabbed the boat and held it to the open side of the ship so that the others could board it.

"I'll take you to the closest port, Izu, since we're still a long way from Edo, cho." Chomesuke said. When Lenalee was about to help Anita on board the older woman reached out and patted her hair.

"You have such beautiful hair. Make sure to grow your hair out again." She said softly and the people on the boat widened their eyes as Lenalee began to cry.

"No… It can't be! It can't be!" Lenalee cried out as Miranda deactivated her Innocence and the people on board turned to ash. Ava hugged the girl.

"I know it's hard… but this is the harsh reality. It's even worse for Miranda." She said in hushed whispers although a few tears escaped her too. She had become very close with Mahoja and Anita too. Slowly the ship began to decay and sink as dust and ashes swirled around in the wind.

"We'll definitively… definitively win!" Lenalee promised and Ava nodded. "Definitively. So, we have to stay strong!" Lenalee nodded and Ava traced the tattoo under her eye.

'_We have to stay strong.' _She looked around but to her surprise she couldn't see 'Daisya' anywhere. She stood up and stared down at the place where the ship had sunk. Had he disappeared with the ship?

"Not likely." She jumped startled and fell over. "Wah, wah, waaaah!"

"You idiot!" Lavi yelled but Krory managed to grab her leg just in time. She sighed in relief and thanked Krory as he dragged her up. She glared at the ghost in front of her.

'_Why the fuck can't you be normal?!' _She thought and he gave an impish grin.

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Ava, what are you doing?" She looked up and saw that everyone was looking at her weirdly and she gave a nervous laugh and rubbed her neck. "N-nothing. Nothing at all."

"Crazy woman." She shot Daisya another glare.

'_You're so dead.'_

"Way ahead of ya."

"Welcome, to Japan, cho." Chomesuke said as they stared up at the grand entrance they stood in front of.

"Japan has refused trading for over 300 years. No one gets in and no one gets out. If you think about it, it's the best place for the Earl to hide. He's probably been living in the shadows here the last 300 years." Bookman said and a girl with long brown hair appeared in front of him.

"That's right." She said.

"W-who are you?" Krory asked and she pointed at herself. "What are you talking about, cho? It's me, cho!"

"You just said 'Cho'." Krory noted and Lavi got in front of him, pointing at the girl. "You're Chomesuke?"

"Right on, cho!" The girl grinned. Lavi looked her up and down for a moment before his eye turned into a heart and his hand fisted in front of him. Ava recognized that pose and like hell she would let him finish saying what she knew he was going to say.

"Striii-" He didn't manage to finish his sentence before she kicked him out of the way.

"Striii, cho?" Chomesuke repeated and Ava shook her head with a nervous smile. "It was nothing. He's just weird."

"I'm not!" Lavi yelled from where he lay on the ground and she shot him a glare. "Shut. Up."

"Y-yes ma'am." Chomesuke lit a lantern he, no she, had hidden beforehand and led them up the stairs as she at the same time explained the situation in Japan. It was indeed the Earl's base. Around 90 percent of the population was Akuma and the government was run by the Earl himself, so there was no one who stood up to him. Japan wasn't a place where humans could live easily but it wasn't easy for Akuma either. The group of humans didn't understand what she meant by that but suddenly she stopped.

"Something's here, cho!" At the top of the stairs a woman stood, looking like she had been waiting for them. "Sachiko." She said and Chomesuke squealed happily.

"Kawamura! Wait here a sec, cho!" Chomesuke said to the others as she handed Lavi the lantern who looked at her quizzically. "Sachiko?"

"That's my body's name, cho!" She said and added that Kawamura was also one of Cross' modified Akuma before she ran up the steps to Kawamura. Kawamura groaned before showing her real form and what was more terrifying was that she seemed to be caught in a giant spider's web.

"Hide!" Chomesuke cried out and pushed them all off the stairs and into hiding.

"What the hell is going on?" Chomesuke covered Ava's mouth and put out the light and pointed at Kawamura. At the top of the stairs, three level 3 came walking down. Chomesuke told them that Kawamura came to pick them up but the level 3s caught her before that happened. They wondered what she meant by that but suddenly the three Akuma began eating Kawamura.

"Here, it makes no difference if you're human or Akuma, cho. Here, it's the survival of the strongest, cho." One of the level 3 turned towards where they were hiding but saw nothing and continued to eat his fill of Kawamura. The group had managed to slip away but what met them later were the corpses of eaten Akuma.

"Okay, this is just sick." Ava gagged as she covered her mouth. Chomesuke was awfully silent and this the others noticed. Lavi asked her if something was wrong but she said that she was okay and that now she had to lead them to Edo, since Kawamura was dead.

"It seems like you're not feeling well." Ava pointed out as she noticed the veins around Chomesukes eyes. She took only a few steps forward before she gasped. Spider webs appeared behind her and she was stuck.

"Chomesuke!" Lavi called as she tried to wiggle free but more webs appeared and she was dragged away from them.

"Run away, cho!" She yelled and disappeared. "Chomesuke!" Lavi and Krory called as the level 3 that had noticed them before appeared, holding the webs in his hand.

"I never would have guessed I'd smell the scent of humans." It crowed happily. "What are you doing here? This is no place for humans, and why is an Akuma with humans?" He stomped down on Chomesuke who winced. Lavi activated his hammer, ready for battle.

"That's good. Looks like I'll have some fun." The level 3 chuckled darkly.

"And it looks like we get some trainin'." The Akuma froze as Ava's voice sounded behind him. "You're fast." The Akuma said and she snorted.

"Funny. The last level 3 we met said the same thing!" She turned around and tried to cut him up with her scythe blades but he was one step ahead and already up in the air. The only thing she accomplished was cutting the webs holding Chomesuke.

"How did you cut my web?" The Akuma asked and she got into a fighting stance. "Um, helloo? Blades protruding from my arms?" She raised an eyebrow, holding up her arms and the Akuma laughed darkly.

"Innocence, of course." He charged at them and Ava grabbed Chomesuke, getting her back to the group. The Akuma landed but was engulfed by Lavi's fire stamp although it had no effect. The Akuma then charged at Lavi who dodged but was caught in the thread made of Dark Matter and slammed into the corpses of the Akuma eaten previously. Krory charged but the same thing happened to him. He was pinned down to the corpses.

"Idiots! You're in no condition to fight close combat!" Ava yelled and allied herself with Bookman but suddenly the Akuma pulled Chomesuke in front of him as a shield. "When the hell did he-?" Ava swore.

"Shall I just go ahead and eat her?" He licked Chomesukes cheek and pinned her in his webs again. Lavi growled and was about to jump in but Bookman got in the way.

"Wait, Lavi! Look!" Lavi stared at Chomesuke and could see the hidden meaning in her eyes. She told them to run away while the level 3 was distracted with her.

"Withdraw!" Bookman ordered. "Gramps!" Bookman didn't turn his eyes away from the Akuma as he told his apprentice to calm down.

"I am calm! Right now, even if we run away, we'll just meet another Akuma. We need Chomesuke to guide us to and through Edo." Ava pushed Bookman into Lavi and took her stance.

"You guys run if you want to. I'm gonna stay here and fight. Maybe it'll create a distraction and cause Akuma to swarm this place. It'll at least make your path a bit safer."

"You are kidding me now right?" Lavi said and she glared at him. "Does it look like I'm joking? Let's save her, then you run away." She said and took her stance again.

"Now I know you're suicidal! You can't take a level 3 alone!" Lavi called as she took off and tried to hit the Akuma with her blades but he blocked them all. She turned them around and thus made his back open to the others. Her wings expanded and cut the threads holding Chomesuke up. With a squeal, the Akuma fell to the ground. Ava grabbed her and darted off while Lavi activated his Innocence again and went up to level 2.

"Fire Seal: Conflagration of Ash!" He shouted and a stronger fire-pillar shot out from the ground but it missed him and Ava stopped short, gaping.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Lavi, I was so scared, cho! So scared,cho!" Chomesuke hugged him and it aggravated his wounds a little bit.

"H-hey, let go. That hurts." Lavi stammered though it seemed like he didn't have anything against it. Ava felt veins appear on her forehead as annoyance grew in her. Before they could run away though, the Akuma created a dome from his thread and they were now caught. And then something else happened. The dome was cut up by the two other Level 3 that had been with the one they were battling with earlier.

"So they finally came, eh." Lavi grinned and Bookman realized what his apprentice had done.

"I see. That previous Fire Seal was just to lure the other two back here." Lavi nodded and Bookman felt pride surge in him for a moment. His apprentice was quite the tactician, but he knew that already.

"The Akuma said it himself. There was no one else around to butt in. I just told them nicely that there was a guy here trying to hog all the spoils." Although he explained it nicely Ava couldn't keep herself from hitting him upside the head and then grab his collar and bring him up close.

"And how do you suppose we're gonna deal with _three _fucking level 3 Akuma?" She hissed and he grinned nervously. "Well, you see, I was hoping they'd fight themselves. You know, if you had been kept out of something you think you'd enjoy… wouldn't you be angry?"

"And the chances of that happening are close to zero you little-" She began but then she could hear the Akuma arguing between each other. She stared at them slack-jawed in disbelief as they began to fight and eat each other.

"I can't believe it. You've got the devil's luck!"

"Hehe, by the way…. Could you let go of me now?" He laughed nervously and she turned back to him.

"What?" She noticed she still kept a tight grip on his collar. "I should kill you for this-"

"Hey, cho! While they've forgotten about us we can get away, cho. Hurry up, cho!" Chomesuke called silently and she let him go as they all ran after her, leaving the three to battle between themselves and destroy themselves too, if they were lucky.

On their way Chomesuke tried many times to persuade them to return back to HQ but they shook their heads. This was the very reason why they came to Japan in the first place.

"For everyone who died while we tried getting here, if we gave up now it would be insulting to their memory." Lenalee said while glancing at Ava who turned away in embarrassment. The girl hadn't forgotten the lecture she had given on board the ship. Chomesuke sighed but smiled nonetheless and continued to lead them to their destination, Edo.

* * *

><p>TWP: And that's it for this chapter. REVIEW PEOPLE! It makes me happy and at the same time, I promise I won't sic Richard on you.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

TWP: Let's take a break from the others and focus on Allen shall we? Indeed, we shall.

**Disclaimer: I don't own DGM.**

* * *

><p>Allen ducked, dodged, leapt and again he tried to activate his Innocence. A split second and then it was nothing more than dust again.<p>

'_I'm causing trouble for Bak.' _He dodged another swing of Fou's blade. '_I_ _have to restore my Innocence. I have to return to the battlefield._' He thought as he dodged the gatekeeper of the Asian Branch's various attacks. Suddenly she jumped back and her blades turned into hands, confusing him.

"You… DUMBASS!" She yelled and punched him out of nowhere and he crashed into one of the many pillars keeping the roof in place. "Cut it out, you bastard!" She shouted furiously. "Why aren't you coming at me seriously?!"

"I-I'm trying." Allen said and she hit him hard on the back of his head as he still hadn't stood up from his crouching position.

"You aren't trying at all! What the hell's up with you right now? You've completely changed! It's like you're thinking about pointless things. Focus more on your training!" The gatekeeper demanded and Allen felt his temper rise.

"Or are you afraid of me now? Looks like your willpower is fading!" Even if Fou didn't know Allen for very long, it seemed like she knew what buttons to push and the next sentence would make his temper flare up too.

"A damned beansprout like you could never activate his Innocence!" She yelled and Allen shouted furiously and tried to maim her. Being called beansprout was the last straw but Rikei held him back as Shifu held Fou from making more of a mess.

"I don't understand either!" Allen said shakily. "I don't understand why I can't invoke my Innocence. It's not like I like being here! I want to go out and help the others! I want to return to the battlefield! That's what I swore to do!" Fou stared before huffing and stormed away.

"That's it! I've had enough!"

Allen sat in the darkness, wondering why he couldn't activate his Innocence. Why couldn't he fuse with it? What was wrong? Suddenly a light was trusted in his face. He jumped back as he saw Lou Fa crawl up the pillar he was leaning on with a lamp in her hand. He took it and she sat down beside him and there was an awkward silence.

"It must be hard having your arm like that, Mr. Walker." She said and he turned to her surprised.

"No… I'm pathetic. It shouldn't be so difficult to do this."

"That's not true!" She exclaimed. "You're trying really hard, right?"

"Even if I try really hard, if nothing happens, it'll all be for naught." Allen deadpanned with a shrug. Lou Fa lifted her feet up to the edge and stared at him.

"What do you want to do?" She asked. "You've made many friends, met the Noah, stopped them from getting the Heart, killed many things, seen a Fallen One and lost your weapon. Has it made you want to protect your friends?" She asked and stared down at the darkness below them. "Do you feel the need to defeat the Noah? After feeling the pain of all those you couldn't save, do you feel you must fight a lot?"

Allen didn't know where she was going with this although she did have a point. A lot of points actually but he didn't think Lou Fa was a person who would be so upfront about things like these. But he smiled mentally, for it was good to have someone to talk to.

"Right now, isn't kindness the thing that's pushing you forward?" She closed her eyes and turned her face away from him now. "But, while all that kindness may make you feel like you must keep fighting, does it also cover up other, even more precious, feelings?" She opened her eyes to stare at him again, curiously. His eyes widened as he thought about her words now.

"We don't fight just for the sake of it, nor do we live just to fight." She leaned closer to him and smiled. "I believe we fight because we have things that are precious to us." He turned to her and didn't notice how close they were.

"Precious things…" He muttered. "Yup!"

"You…" He stared in wonder and she smiled while tilting her head. Suddenly a voice shrieked behind them.

"What's that?!" Allen turned and saw Lou Fa pointing at them with tears of embarrassment in her eyes. "I-I-I'm flirting with Mr. Walker!" She stammered. Allen then glanced at the Lou Fa beside him and then stared at the flustered one behind them and it was a continuing process, completely confused at what was going on.

"What is it? What's wrong, Lou Fa?" Rikei asked as he and Shifu appeared too. The Lou Fa beside him tsked.

"She screwed everything up." Allen froze. He knew that voice. Lou Fa transformed into Fou who crossed her arms with a scowl. The ones behind them except for Shifu froze in shock too.

"Oh, I knew about this. Miss Fou can impersonate other people." He pointed out. "She does it to tease the director." Allen blinked as the gatekeeper stood up and told him not to get the wrong idea. She was still pissed off; it was clear on her face.

"Thanks, Fou!" He called and she stopped. "For the light."

"After I rest, we'll start again." Fou replied and Allen yelled an okay back.

"Please don't disguise yourself as me again!" Lou Fa called flustered and angrily. She was, after all, crushing on Allen, and what she had witnessed was not good for her heart. She didn't want Allen to get the wrong idea about her.

Though Allen still felt restless not knowing the condition of his comrades, he could now focus better on what was important. Restoring his Innocence.

In Japan, trouble was brewing. The Noah knew of his survival and they didn't like it one bit. Tyki sent a level 3 Akuma through the Ark to find Allen and return him to them. At the same time, the Cross unit and the survivors of the shipwreck were trudging around, almost in Edo now, trying to locate their General and avoiding as many Akuma as they could. They weren't sure if the Earl knew they were there but they didn't want to take any chances. The less they came in contact with hostiles, the better. They were after all pretty torn up and wounded after the attack on the ship.

* * *

><p>TWP: This was a short chapter. I didn't really know what I was going to write about Allen so I just stuck with the episode, just to have him make an appearance before Edo. Read and review please!<p> 


	19. Chapter 19

TWP: And then we've reached chapter nineteenth. HALLELUJAH! My arms hurts like hell!

**Disclaimer: I don't own DGM**

* * *

><p>Chomesuke checked the sky and the land before nodding to the others and continued to walk forward. The group travelled mostly in silence, so as to not attract any Akuma. Only two of the Exorcists weren't hurt from the attack on the ship and that were the two Krory's. Ava wasn't hurt because she had healed up inside the egg and Krory was alright because he had managed to avoid the shots from the Akuma. Lavi was a bit suspicious about the way they were going but Chomesuke told him that she had memorized the whole route to Edo. If he didn't believe that, then he would have to believe in Timcanpy, who also pointed them in the direction that Chomesuke was leading them.<p>

Suddenly shuriken fell from the sky. Lavi jumped out in front and deflected them with his hammer but he recognized them immediately and frowned. He looked up and saw the level 3 that had attacked them earlier stare down at them.

"That level 3 from before! Did you follow us?" He demanded and the Akuma chuckled darkly. "Oh, there are so many humans running around." Bookman appeared behind Lavi and whispered to him before he attacked with his Innocence and pinned the Akuma even though it was no use trying to destroy it with that kind of attack. Of course that wasn't needed when Lavi used his Heaven Seal and caused electricity to rain down from the sky, hurting the Akuma, but not killing it. A level 3 could already stand such an attack and now with his right arm in a sling, the power was cut in half. Chomesuke kicked the cliff wall and a secret hidden route opened. They all instantly ran inside, leaving the angry Akuma behind.

"This isn't good, cho. It's not easy to get away from a level 3, cho!" Chomesuke rambled on in worry. Suddenly the ground shook and the roof began to cave in. Miranda quickly activated her Innocence and used Time Recovery to make it turn back to normal. They expected it to be the same Akuma but this time it was another.

"I will be the one to kill you guys." He claimed. Krory whispered something to Miranda before he took off, taking a direct hit from the Akuma's weapon. Once he hit the roof Miranda deactivated her Innocence and with the use of Lavi's hammer they escaped out into the open.

"Even if we escape they'll just continue to chase us to Edo!" Lavi said and the third Akuma appeared in front of them laughing insanely.

"You won't be reaching Edo!" He called and his Dark Matter seemed to be energy blades that he hurled towards them. Lavi changed their course from up to down and they narrowly managed to avoid the attack but the Akuma threw more of them and the explosion from the one that landed in front of them cause them to be thrown off the hammer and they fell to the ground. Clutching their wounds they looked up and gasped as he readied himself to attack again.

"Wait, where's Ava?" Lavi looked around but couldn't find the girl anywhere.

"HAAAAAH!" The Akuma looked up and raised his arms as shield from Ava's kick from above but her speed gave her attack strength and his arms got cut clean off. He screamed in pain and she tried attacking once again, from the side this time but he jumped and kicked her and she fell back on the ground in front of the others. The Akuma growled and charged but Chomesuke took something from her kimono and threw it on the ground before their enemy. A bright light blinded him and when he could see again, they were gone.

It seemed like whatever Chomesuke had used was for naught though for the three Akuma quickly caught up to them. The Exorcists readied themselves but before the fight broke out their skulls began glowing with Dark Matter. Chomesuke also clutched her head and whined.

"Sachiko, what's wrong? Does your head hurt?" Lavi asked in worry but she shook her head. "It doesn't hurt…" She grit out and the Akuma around them leaped into the air and disappeared.

"What's going on?" Lavi wondered and then they noticed a horde of Akuma flying over them.

"Meet in Edo." They turned to Chomesuke. "All of these Akuma are going to Edo?" Lenalee exclaimed.

"Well fuck… We're screwed." Ava muttered. Even she didn't see a positive outcome from this. If they reached Edo they would most probably be attacked by all the Akuma and the chance of actually reaching Edo before was low.

"Indeed, there's little chance we'll make it out of here alive." Bookman turned to the others. "Will you still go?"

"The answer's obvious!" Lavi said and Lenalee nodded.

"Bookman… you, Lavi and the others should leave here. Arystar and I will find the General." Everyone turned to stare at Ava with wide eyes, not quite believing their own ears.

"What the hell?" Lavi exclaimed.

"You can't do this alone!" Lenalee reasoned.

"Are you sure about this?" Bookman asked.

"Ava?" Arystar seemed hesitant and surprised.

"Let me stay and use Time Recovery on you at least!" Miranda begged. Ava sighed and held up her hand, tipping off one finger for each reason she had.

"Lenalee's legs are hurt. She can't fight. Miranda is exhausted; using her powers anymore is life-threatening. Chaoji, Maosao and Kie ain't Exorcists and you two." Here she pointed at Lavi and Bookman. "Should leave simply because of who you are and you're hurt too. Arystar and I are the only ones who're mostly unhurt. We stand a better chance in sneaking in in a smaller number." She explained.

"The hell do you mean, we should leave simply because of who we are?" Lavi grabbed her collar and glared at her angrily, not getting the reason as to why she was suicidal. "This has been a suicide mission from the start! What if you fail at sneaking in, huh?"

"Then you'll lose only two Exorcists, not six and three civilians. And what I mean with you two is because you're Bookmen. You're the recorders of hidden history. You're not even supposed to be here!" She shot back and Lavi growled before throwing her on the ground.

"What do you mean we shouldn't be here?" He was furious now and Ava didn't bother getting up from the ground knowing she probably was going to end up down on it again. She didn't like this option either, but it was better that they lowered the risk of losing everyone. Lenalee and the others stared at the two in confusion except for Krory who got in between the two.

"Calm down, both you, please."

'_What did she mean by that?'_ Lenalee thought and glanced at Lavi, then Bookman.

"She has a very good point." Everyone turned to Bookman who had his eyes closed.

"Gramps, you can't be serious-" Lavi began but the old man held up his hand in order to silence him and gave him a look that reminded Lavi of who he was.

'_That's right… I'm the successor to Bookman. I'm not supposed to get attached.' _ But _how_ did Ava know all of this? Where had she gained this knowledge? She still sat there, staring at him with an unreadable expression on her face, the kind he wore when he was in his Bookman mode. It was unnerving, not being able to at least guess what she was thinking. She was usually like an open book.

"But we're now on a mission given to us by HQ." Bookman stood in front of her and kneeled down in front of her; speaking silently so only she could hear. "What do you now?"

"That the Bookman clan grows no attachment to anything or anyone. They are neutral and chose no side. I guess the reason you joined the Order is solely for the reason to record history?" Bookman nodded slightly. "That's all I know."

"How do you know?"

"I've always known this. I don't know why, but it is knowledge I was born with." Bookman inspected her before leaning back, nodding and letting it slide for now. He had seen, heard and witnessed weirder things. "You said so yourself, Bookman. If you are an accommodator, you have a responsibility as an Exorcist." She whispered and he froze.

"Indeed. I did say that once." Bookman nodded.

"What did you say, old panda?" Lavi asked and Bookman punched him. "Nothing, you idiot apprentice! And stop calling me a panda!" He huffed as Lavi groaned.

"That's why we're staying." Bookman told Ava and she shook her head and let her bangs cover her eyes.

"This is folly!" She muttered. "Claiming to be able to finish this alone is an even bigger folly." Bookman retorted and began walking, the others following. Krory stopped by her and held out his hand but she shook her head.

"Just go. I need to think." He seemed hesitant but he followed the others, leaving her behind.

"Bookman, is it wise to leave her alone? Especially here? " Lenalee asked.

"She needs to sort through her thoughts. Keep in mind that what she offered was to give us a way out of this alive. She won't be far behind." Bookman said, reassuring Lenalee a bit. Chomesuke groaned as she received the message while they continued.

'_Foolish! This is foolish! Going in there now… it's stupid! We'll all die!'_ Just the mere thought of her comrades dying made her want to throw up. She remembered how she pictured everyone the day she was told that Yeegar died and bile rose up her throat. She heaved and bent over, throwing up whatever she had eaten on the ship. The stench burned her nose and eyes, causing her to gag more and he eyes watered. She spit, hoping to rid herself of the awful taste in her mouth but it didn't work. She sighed and brought out her handkerchief as she sat back, wiping her mouth. She wiped her forehead and tried to breathe a little easier but it was hard. The images came again but she shook her head, managing to get rid of them for at least a short while. She thought about what she had told Bookman. The man was already edgy around her because of what happened on the ship and now he had a reason as to why he shouldn't trust her. And her suggestion earlier…

"I'm an idiot." She sighed and leaned back, resting on her arms.

"Glad we agree on something." She tensed before turning around, glancing at the one who had snuck up on her. "Your suggestion just proved to me that you're suicidal, ya know. And what's with the whole: you should leave simply because of who you are, crap huh?"

"Not now, Lavi. I know it was stupid-"

"Stupid doesn't even begin to describe it." He cut her off and she hung her head. "Of course, I should have told Arystar to go with you. Very selfish of me wanting to save you." She said sarcastically and he slapped the back of her head, not too hard though but it caused her to lurch forward, almost throwing up again.

"Hey, are you sick?" Lavi's mood went from anger to concern.

"N-no." She stammered as she took in fresh air so as to clear herself from the annoying feeling of nausea before she gagged again and threw up.

"You are sick." He held her hair back and awkwardly managed to rub her back as she rid herself of the disgusting matter.

"Well… there goes my lunch." She mumbled and wiped her mouth, grimacing at the taste. "Here." Lavi handed her a bottle of water. She didn't know where he had managed to hide that but she accepted it gratefully. She drank, rinsed her mouth and spat. She checked and found that the taste was almost gone and she was satisfied with that as she handed it back to him.

"Thanks."

"No problem." He stared for a while as she breathed heavily before he asked. "What did the old man say to you?" She stared at him.

"Why do you ask?"

"It seemed serious and he seemed to be deep in thought back there, didn't even react when I called him a panda again."

"Whoa, then he's really in deep thought." She joked but he didn't laugh. "Come on, that one was funny!"

"Just answer the question." He snapped and she knew from his tone of voice to tread carefully now. She had never seen Lavi really angry before but she had a feeling that if she wasn't careful he would show her exactly how angry he could become.

"He asked me about what I know of Bookmen." She answered simply and he stared at her, telling her to go on. "And I told him what I know."

"Which is?"

"That you're not supposed to get attached, you choose no side in war. You simply exist to record history." She stared at him. "Though I didn't tell him, I know you're failing at the first part." He stiffened and stood up, turning away from her.

"You sure 'bout that?" He said coldly. Her head snapped up, a bit surprised at hearing his cold voice.

"Yeah. Because you're already attached. The way you reacted when you were told Allen died. How you reacted when we were attacked on the ship… they're telltale signs." She said and got up, walking over to him. She put a hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off and began walking.

"We'd better catch up to the others." His voice was still cold and distant and she stood her ground. "Stop putting up a front!" He swirled around with a glare.

"Who says I'm faking it?" He growled and she sneered right back. "You did! Just now!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah! You came back to scold me and I never said anything about faking anything! I call that being worried about someone a.k.a. being attached to someone!"

"I'm not worried about you! I could care less!"

"Then why the fuck don't you just get the hell out of here already?" She snarled, turned around and stalked back the way they came.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Lavi called and she gave him the finger both surprising him and angering him further. "Away from you!" She shouted and continued. He growled before running after her and grabbing her arm, forcing her to turn around.

"The hell you are! You're going with us to Edo. Even if I have to drag you back-"

_Slap!_

Lavi stared wide-eyed at the girl whose own eyes were so wide in anger he felt like taking a step back but he stood his ground. His cheek stung like hell after her palm met it.

"Did you just-?"

"Yeah, and I have to admit, it felt pretty damn good. Now, lemme go!" She yanked her arm back but Lavi grabbed her again and hugged her to keep her from hitting him again. "Lemme go before I fucking do something I'll regret_, Bookman Junior_!" She growled, putting weight on his title, and pushed but he only tightened his grip. She had to admit, he was pretty strong when he could hold her with just one arm. Maybe she should hit his wounded arm or something so he would be forced to let go-

"I'm sorry." She stilled. "I'm sorry, I acted like an asshole. I guess I am attached to you guys. Gramps is gonna kill me when he finds out." He chuckled silently.

"What's so bad about being human?" She muttered after a while and he shrugged. "I don't know… maybe it is to prevent recorded history from being corrupted." They stood there in a long silence before Ava lifted her arms and hugged him back.

"I'm afraid." She whispered and he nodded. "Me too."

"I don't want any more people to die." He shook his head.

"No one will." She groaned.

"You're too naïve."

"No, I'm just an eternal optimist." He said and tightened his grip on her as she made to move away. She stilled and let herself be engulfed in his warmth. She herself had felt cold before he returned to lecture her. She could hear his soft heartbeat through his clothes and suddenly a gust of wind passed by them, causing her to shiver. The shorts weren't ideal clothing in this weather.

"Are you cold?" He asked and she nodded. "A little." She admitted and they ran out of words to say for a while.

"Lavi… I don't want you guys to die. I… I wouldn't be able to take it. I know it's selfish to say something like that but it's the truth." She rambled and he eased his grip enough to be able to see her face. He could see fear and grief in her eyes and he furrowed his brows. He didn't know what to say. What could he possibly tell her that would calm her in a situation such as this when swarms of Akuma were passing by over them? He lifted his good hand to her cheeks and wiped away tears with his thumb. She closed her eyes to try to stem the flow and was somewhat successful.

"Hey now, it'll be alright." He whispered and she shook her head slightly. "How can it be alright? There are but a few Exorcists left, and the chances of us all getting out of here alive are slim. I don't want to lose Arystar and the others. I don't wanna lose you." She whispered and he felt his heart flutter.

"You've done so much for me after Yeegar and Daisya… I don't wanna lose you." She looked down at the ground but he lifted her face up.

"You won't okay? I promise."

"There's no way you can promise that." She said and tried to turn away again but he forced her to look at him. "I promise we'll all get out of here alive, _with_ General Cross." She saw honesty in his eyes but he could talk all he wanted now and still die later, but even with that knowledge she smiled and nodded.

"Alright. I'll believe you." He smiled too.

"That's the spirit." She blushed at his gentle voice as she noticed how close they were.

"Lavi…"

"Yeah?" He murmured.

"You're very close." She breathed out.

"I know." Still, he didn't pull away and Ava felt something within her. Was it happiness? Affection? Care? One of them, she figured and her eyes closed half-way. "We should catch up with the others before they get worried." He nodded and let go of her and they ran after the group that left ahead of them.

* * *

><p>They were fighting the Earl and the Noah, and they were losing, badly! Lavi, Krory and Ava had managed to get rid of the three level 3 Akuma that had been pestering them the whole way from Izu but Lavi had lost himself in his fury and was fighting Tyki. The Noah had teased him about how he knew how it felt when a friend died, and then thrown Lavi off the game by telling him that Allen was still alive.<p>

"You may see him. If you live long enough, that is." The Noah was much stronger than him and he tried to confuse Lavi but this only made the younger male more determined to survive, and all of his comrades too. Ava and Krory were busy with the twins who called themselves Jasdevi while Bookman had his hands full trying to protect Lenalee and the others.

"You know what, Arystar?" Ava called as she dodged another bullet from the twins.

"What?" Krory called back roughly.

"I've started to-" She narrowly ducked a fist. "Dislike twins!"

"Your brothers are twins!"

"I know! Weird, right?!" Suddenly the Akuma began swarming together above the Earl and this caused everyone to turn their attention to him. At first two giant upper bodies appeared, then heads and at last their legs grew out. The Exorcists stared at it in horror, except for Bookman, while the Noah smirked.

"Okay, that's it. We're screwed!" Ava stomped her feet like a spoiled child and cursed loudly making everyone blush in embarrassment at her foul language, even the Earl was shocked. "Not only do we have to deal with the Noah, now the GODDAMN FUCKING AKUMA MERGED TOGETHER TO MAKE TWO GODDAMN GIANTS! DO YOU NEED SOMEONE BIG ENOUGH TO KISS YOUR FAT ASS, EARL?!"

'_She's lost it…'_ The others thought. Clearly she wasn't good in the head if she started to yell such things to their greatest enemy when the odds were against them. And in a life or death battle too.

"Is that… normal for her?" Tyki stared at her wide eyed as Lavi sighed and shook his head. "Yeah…"

"Hey! I think that one's supposed to represent a female!" Ava called and pointed at the one closest to them making everyone sweatdrop.

'_This is hardly the time!'_ They thought.

"You don't have the time to be distracted." Lavi turned just in time to block the attack from Tyki with his hammer. He threw away the cloth that held his right arm and held his hammer with both hands. Tyki smirked as he noticed the badly hurt arm.

"Don't think you'll be hearing me complain about the pain." Lavi growled and ascended to level 2, causing Tyki to jump back as the seals appeared around the hammer. "You say that you can go through anything, but Innocence is different. Back then, Allen landed a hit with his Innocence. That makes you no different from the Akuma. Your weakness is Innocence, isn't it?" Lavi's explanation caused the Noah's smirk to widen, whether it was from excitement or the fact that Lavi was right, no one knew.

"Circle of Fire! Circle of Heaven!" Two seals merged together as Lavi called their names. "Combo Seal: Strong Thunder of the Heavens!" A fire pillar shot out and a lightning dragon attacked Tyki who let out his Tease's that devoured the dragon. Some burned up but the rest headed straight for Lavi. While he was distracted with the butterflies made of Dark Matter, Tyki commanded one of the Akuma to attack Lavi. The Akuma hurriedly did as told and tried to stomp down on Lavi. It missed though and was surprised, if it could feel that emotion, when Ava passed it by with Lavi in her arms.

"You're too reckless!"

"Hey, you're hurting my arm!" He complained as his right arm was squeezed between him and her.

"DEAL WITH IT!" She yelled! She was stressed and angry, both at seeing Tyki again and because she saw that one of the giants had swept Krory away easily and right now, they were followed by the Tease. They landed on the rooftop of an outpost where Lavi tried to hit away the Tease.

"There's no end to them!" He called annoyed and Ava used her wings to create a strong gust of wind to try to blow them away but they just came back.

"Whatever you do, don't let them touch you!"

"You should watch your back." Lavi turned and was sent flying by Tyki.

"LAVI!" Ava screamed but froze as Tyki put an arm around her shoulders and held her chin up.

"You again? I thought you would keep out of the war with your boyfriend dead. Oh well, you'll just have to go too." He aimed for her heart but found out that he couldn't phase through her chest.

"What… are you doing?" He found himself holding her breast and his eyes widened. An elbow met his stomach and she grabbed him around his arm, throwing him over her shoulder before leaping after and kicking him, sending him after Lavi. He crashed into the roof, a little ways from Lavi and co.

"What do you think you're doing in the middle of a battlefield?" Ava flew above him, glowering at him shaking her fist angrily. He held up his hands in defense.

"W-wait a minute! I didn't mean to do it! I was supposed to grab your heart, not your chest!" She twitched before launching herself at him. He hurriedly phased through the roof and she only managed to punch a hole in the roof but Tyki was already gone.

"Come back here you goddamn asshole!" She yelled and followed after him, ignoring the others warnings as the giants launched multiple attacks.

Krory and the others had retreated to safety when the Akuma had attacked and Chomesuke was trying to make Krory drink her blood so he could join the fight again but Krory refused, saying he wouldn't drink the blood of a friend. Suddenly Tyki phased through the wall, sighing in relief.

"Finally shook her off." He leaned over, putting his hands on his knees and breathed heavily before he noticed the others.

"Eh?" Suddenly the wall behind him fell down in a perfect square and on the other side, a furious Ava stood. "EH?!"

"I'm going to kill you!" she hissed lowly and dangerously, her blades gleaming in the moonlight that came from the hole in the roof.

"I already said I was sorry!" He ran, phasing through the wall with Ava following close after, leaving the others behind. They were first confused as to why Tyki ran away and then they wondered if Ava was so furious at him because of Yeegar and Daisya. A simple sorry was not enough for that but it had seemed like Ava had been blushing in anger too. Chomesuke gasped and grabbed her chest before running out.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Tyki said to himself as he ran with Ava yelling curses after him. He laughed nervously. "This isn't my day." He turned and attacked again, intending to try to leave a Tease inside of her but he failed again. Luckily for him, he had aimed at the stomach this time.

"What's with you? Why can't I phase through you? It's almost like you have Innocence guarding your whole body!" He growled as he dodged punches. Then he blocked and found little resistance behind it. He raised an eyebrow.

"You… you aren't physically strong are you?" She growled and sent another fist but he caught that one too. "You really aren't!" A crazed grin grazed his handsome features as he gleefully brought her down on her knees by bending her wrists. Right then and there she cursed her inability to bend and lenghten the blades at will.

Inside the stock house the others were hiding in, Krory finally decided that he would go out to fight. When Lenalee attempted to follow, Bookman and Lavi appeared, stopping her.

"I just need to distract them so they won't swat Lavi away when he extends the hammer above the Akuma." Bookman explained.

"Come with us, Krory-kins. It'll be an all-you-can-eat Akuma blood buffet." Lavi smirked and Krory nodded.

"That's not a bad idea." Lenalee tried to argue but she was shot down and Lavi showed that he wasn't at ease with Bookman's plan either but Chomesuke spoke up suddenly.

"I'll fly you up, cho. I can't stay with you guys for much longer, anyway, cho." She said sadly as Timcanpy landed in her hands as veins appeared on her face. "Even though I'm modified, I can't suppress my bloodlust for much longer, cho. I'll end up attacking you soon. I should be commended for making it this far, cho."

"Agh-gaaaah!" Ava cried out as Tyki bended her wrists more and more, a crazed grin still of his face.

"You wasted your boyfriend's effort. He requested me to let you live and I did. Here you are, throwing away the life that was spared. What a waste." Tyki said maliciously above her. He threw her to the ground and she landed on her stomach. When she tried to get up though, he stomped down on her head, slowly putting pressure on her.

"Ugh!" She glanced up at him but behind him, she saw Chomesuke fly towards the giant Akuma.

"I'll end this quick. You want to see him again don't you?" Tyki leered but was forced to jump back when she extended her wings, barely scratching him, but it was all she needed. She jumped to her feet and took off after Chomesuke, reaching her right after Lavi and the others had left her.

"Chomesuke! You're hurt!" The Akuma grinned.

"It's okay. I was going to self-destruct now either way." Ava's eyes widened and she shook her head. "There's no peace for Akuma who self-destruct." She laid down on Chomesuke's back and pierced her with her wings. The Akuma gave a pained groan.

"Rest in peace, Chomesuke."

"T-thank you." The Akuma managed to utter before she exploded. The giant Akuma fell to its knees and she thought the others were victorious. She glanced to the side and saw Miranda's Innocence standing out like a beacon. Growing worried, she hurried over there only to see the others safe.

"Ava!" Lenalee called out and the girl landed in front of them with a happy smile before she flinched. Her ankle hurt, bad. She sat down and held it, checking over it.

"What's wrong?" Miranda asked. "I think I sprained it." The younger girl muttered.

"Look!" Chaoji called and they all turned towards the giant Akuma, where they could see green light clashing with purple.

"It's Lavi and that Noah!" Growling, Ava got up but fell down again when the pain in her ankle intensified. "Ow!" She exclaimed and Lenalee held her down.

"You have to stay here Ava!"

"The others are fighting! I can't just sit by and watch!" The girl argued but Lenalee shook her head. "You're hurt!"

"It's only a sprained ankle!"

"What if you worsen it?" Lenalee begged her to stay and the girl sighed before nodding. She saw that Miranda was tired and Lenalee wasn't in a condition to fight anymore. She had to stay and protect them. Lavi, Bookman and Krory would just have to do without her and though she didn't like the thought of sitting on the side lines, she knew they were strong enough to take care of themselves.

* * *

><p>TWP: Through the hours it took me to write this chapter, I listened to: I'm Sorry (Goodbye) – And then I Turned Seven. God, it's a beautiful song!<p> 


	20. Chapter 192

TWP: A little shortie that I didn't bother to write into the nineteenth chapter but then I regretted it and had to write it here.

**Disclaimer: I don't own DGM.**

* * *

><p>"<em>Can you hear me, Allen?"<em> Komuis voice could be heard through the wireless piece in his ear. "_Were you able to get inside the Ark?"_ Allen opened his eyes and looked around confused. The boy looked around in wonder at the city he had entered. Every building and even the ground was white.

"It's very different from what I expected." He said as he began walking, looking for the exit that would send him to Edo.

"_Be careful! Don't get yourself lost!"_ The chief called and Allen sweatdropped as he was reminded that he had a bad habit of getting lost.

"Komui… do you think everyone's okay?" Allen asked and Komui replied calmly. _"During times of anxiety, it's best to think of fun things._"

"Fun things?" Allen questioned, not really understanding why Komui brought that up.

"_You can't think of any? I sure can. For example, when everyone comes back, I'll first say, Welcome home, and give you guys pats on the shoulders, while Lenalee gets a great big hug!"_ Allen laughed at his Chief's antics and his mouth watered when he heard the next.

"_I'll give you lots of food to eat, Allen. Oh, I must make sure Ava gets a lot too! And she will probably ask for alcohol, that girl is one heavy drinker! Oh, and I have to prepare cigarettes too, or she'll kill me! I imagine she has run out by now. Lavi will probably fall asleep the moment he comes back, so I'll need to stand prepared with a blanket. The adults and those that have reached the legal age to drink will toast each other with wine._" Allen laughed again, picturing Ava, Krory, Kanda and Lavi drinking with the others and then a drunken Lavi making a fool of himself as usual.

"_We'll throw a really huge party, and then we'll fall asleep. It'll be the best. And then, though a little late, Kanda will come in with that sour look on his face and tell us that we're being too loud._" Allen nodded. It was all too true.

"You've planned this for some time, haven't you Komui?" He asked and there was laughter on the other side.

"_I've planned how to welcome you home, indeed! I even built a new Komurin!"_ Allen hung his head. Komui's robots always did something stupid. But he grinned as he recalled all the times they had been forced to terminate them. It was funny now that he thought about it. That time when he came back from Martel. He remembered how everyone freaked out by the thought of a macho Lenalee. He also remembered that time when Krory first arrived at the Order. Komurin 4 had made a Lavi-omelet and the mini-version had put make-up on them. He remembered how Ava had almost managed to distribute the proof all over the HQ. The girl really knew how to use her Innocence. Had it not been for Lavi's hammer they probably wouldn't have been able to catch her in time.

"_What are you laughing off, Allen?_" Komui asked but the boy said it was nothing.

"Please, continue." He said and Komui began to tell him about the new and perfected Komurin. This one was a success no doubt.

'_As long as we doesn't give it coffee, I bet._' Allen thought with a shake of his head.

"_If we're very lucky, you'll be able to fast travel using the Ark." _Komui said excitedly and Allen smiled before it fell. What if the Earl decided to use the Ark to attack the Asian Branch? No, he couldn't let that happen! No matter what, he would protect his friends and home, and they would all get back home in one piece too, so that they could have that party. Because right now, he was really hungry!

* * *

><p>TWP: Wow, this was real short too! Didn't imagine that it would turn out this short… anyways, please review this chapter! Or if you find out that you wanted to give one more for the last chapter, you do that here too.<p> 


End file.
